Diner
by leira123
Summary: Ponyboy Curtis is finishing up his junior year of college, getting caught up with everything around him. Meeting Anna, a single mother/waitress, he realizes that he might not be the only one who still treads water.
1. Chapter 1

**Diner was an idea I had, loosely based on good friends of my families who went through something similar to this. This is my first outsiders Fanfiction, so any constructive criticism is welcomed. **

**This chapter is to get the ball rolling. Having written the first 8 chapters in advance, I can guarantee you 2 chapters a week for the next couple of weeks. As long as you update that is:)**

Groggily playing with my napkin, I sat in a booth, staring at the people outside of the window I was next to. Everything was different in Oklahoma City. Tulsa was calm, collected. It was a small town, everyone able to coexist without problems.

Well…at least Socs coexisted with Socs and Greasers coexisted with Greasers.

Oklahoma City was full of life. Kinda like a bee hive. There were hundreds of people, living their life without anyone to tell them anything different.

"What can I get for you?" a voice asked me. I glanced up to see a girl about my age. Nineteen…twenty tops.

"Um... coffee please." I said, flashing her a weak smile.

She looked just about as tired as I was. Maybe a bit worse. "Coming right up." She said, and she flew to the back. She came back moments later, bringing me my coffee. "Anything else?"

"I think I'm good." I glanced around the room, noticing that I was the only one here. "Really busy, huh?"

She sighed. "I should be upset about it, but truthfully, I'm relieved. It's been a nonstop flow of people, and this is my second shift today. So what's your excuse?" she asked, placing the coffee pot on the table.

"My excuse?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You look as tired as I feel. Long day school? How old are you anyways. Senior year in high school?" she asked, putting her finger to her lip in thought.

I smiled slightly. "Try junior year of college."

"Wow. You're older than I thought."

"How old did you think I was?" I ask.

"Eighteen or Nineteen. Twenty tops."

"Well you were right. I'm turning 20 in a couple of weeks, June 16."

She looked at me in surprise. "Seriously?"

"Really, really."

"How did you manage that?"

"I skipped a grade, and did a lot of college classes in high school." I shrugged. "No big deal."

"I was going to start college this year, but…"

"Life happened." I guessed.

She nodded. "That's about right. So I'm guessing from your look of exhaustion, that its finals week."

I laughed. "You're a good guesser."

She sat down across from me. "But a smart guy like you, they must be a piece of cake."

I rolled my eyes. "You sound like my brothers."

"Oh?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. Her really pretty blue eyes stared at me. "What are your brothers like?"

"I've got two of them. Darry's my oldest brother. He's really tough, and doesn't take no for an answer. It has to be good enough. But he does care, just has to be the tough one for me and my brother. He's a bit of an ass sometimes." I trailed off. "But he's been a lot better lately."

She laughed. "I think I like the sound of Darry. Is that his real name?"

"Naw, is real name is Darryl. Though Darry isn't anything. My other brother's name is Sodapop."

"Now you're messing with me."

"I swear on my parents graves."

She winced. "That was deep."

I nodded in agreement. "Yea, maybe a bit too deep. But it's true. My brother's name is Sodapop. We call him Soda."

"Now what's Sodapop like?"

"Well Soda is the best. One of my best friends. Nicest guy you'll ever meet. He dropped out of school when he was 16 with Steve and they worked at the DX for a couple of years. They started a business of their own a couple of years ago. It's going really good." I took a sip of my coffee.

She laughed. "Sounds like your picking favorites."

"Naw, not really. I've always gotten along better with Soda that with Darry. Soda's just that kinda guy. And Darry had to become a parent when I was only 15, and I couldn't stay out of trouble if my life depended on it." I trailed off. "Sometimes my life did depend on it."

"Sounds like an interesting life."

I nodded. "Now what about you? You have somehow managed to smuggle out my entire life story. I'm impressed."

She sighed, resting her head in the palm of her hand. "I like you. Plus, I hold an amazing conversation." She shrugged. "It's a talent."

"Now I don't even know your name."

She smiled, showing me her perfectly straight teeth. "It's Anna Wicker."

"Anna." I said, tasting the name on my lips. "It fits you."

"I would hope so. It is my name. And for a fifteen minute conversation about your life, I missed your name also."

"Ponyboy. Ponyboy Curtis."

She looked surprised. "It's an original name."

"My dad was an original guy."

She smiled. "Well I grew up, went to high school, and live in Oklahoma City with my daughter."

I was shocked. But I masked my expression. "How old is she?"

"She's turning four this July." She said, smiling fondly. "She's the smartest kid I

ever met. She can count to 100, and can speak great." She trailed off. "Well kinda. She's working on pronouncing most things."

I smiled at her. "She's a momma's girl, huh?"

She frowned slightly. "Well her daddy hasn't been part of her life since she was 3 weeks old. So yeah, I'd say she was a momma's girl."

I quieted. "I'm sorry, I didn't know."

She sighed. "No, I'm sorry. I just get mad at him, you know? He's just left, and I was all alone."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be." She said, standing up from her seat. "I'm not, you know? Except for

that asshole leaving me, but Ellie is the best thing that ever happened to me."

"She sounds like a nice girl."

Anna beamed. "She is."

I looked at my empty cup and I sighed. "I better be going."

Anna took my coffee cup and gave me a warming smile. "Come back here after finals. I want to know how you did."

I felt myself flush. "What time do you work?"

"Monday through Friday, four to eight."

"Thank you. I would really like that." I watched her go before I paid my bill and left a happy bonus.

**Ok, there it is. Thank you for reading, and I really appreciate any reviews. Thank you all!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Ok, thank you for the reviews! I found out that I had gotten Ponyboy's birthday wrong. Which is unfortunate, because I could have worked with either. But I'm going to continue with the birthday I have, only because I have already written up to it. But I really appreciate you guys helping me along with this. I haven't ever done Beta Reader, so I'm kinda hesitant on starting it. But I went ahead and sent a request to an author I wanted, and I'm just waiting for the reply.**

**Here's the next chapter. Again constructive criticism is welcomed, but please no flames. And forgive me if I have a few grammatical errors. I seem to get a little comma happy sometimes. **

**Another thing I forgot last chapter! Disclaimer: I do not own ****The Outsiders****. All rights go to S.E. Hinton.**

Finals went by fast, and Anna was right. I had nothing to worry about. I flew through the tests with ease. But I found myself thinking about Anna more times than I cared to admit. That evening, drinking coffee with her was fun. More fun than I had in a long time.

"When are you coming home?" Soda asked the day after finals. "How long do you have to stay there?"

"I should be able to come home soon. Sometimes in the next two weeks."

"Two weeks? Glory Pony, I thought you'd be home way sooner than that. Why do you have to stay so long?"

I fingered the phone cord as I glanced around my dirty dorm room. "I've gotta clean things up, finish packing up, get my test results in. You know… just some stuff."

Soda grunted, but he was obviously not happy. "I want you home well before your birthday Pony. I mean it."

I smirked into the phone. "Come on Soda. You all know you're having a ball without me there." Though as I said it, the truth of the words hit me painfully in the chest.

"That's a lie and you know it. I miss you everyday." Soda said, warming me up a bit.

"How's the shop coming along?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

"It's going real good Pony. Can't wait for you to come down here. You might be able to help me sort through some of this math shit that I never got."

I laughed. "I'm sure I'll figure out something. Steve giving you a hard time?"

"Naw, he's been acting all weird ever since he started going out with Wendy."

"There still together?" I asked in shock. Steve hasn't had a steady girlfriend since before Johnny and Dally died.

"Yup. And he's still all tongue tied when he's around her." Soda laughed. "It's actually pretty funny. What about you Pony? Any girls that will be coming to stay over the summer?"

I thought carefully. "Nope, just be me."

"You know Pony, Steve has a cousin that's just about your age, maybe a year or two older, and she's coming down for a week this summer-"

"Soda, I don't need you setting me up with girls. If I wanted to date, I would be dating." And this was true. I was much more comfortable in college, and quite a few girls took a shine to me.

"Then why aren't you dating?"

I groaned. "Soda! I don't want to date right now. There's no one that has caught my attention." But as I said this I thought of Anna. I shook the thought from my head.

"You and Darry! God knows it would be good for both of you to just go out on a couple of dates, relieve some of that stress, and iron out the crinkle on your forehead."

I was able to hang up the phone soon after that. I glanced around the room in disgust.  
>"Adam!" I shouted, banging on the bathroom door. "This place looks like shit! What the hell did you do last night?"<p>

Adam came out, his eyes bloodshot and white powder on his upper lip. "Can you keep it down? I'm busy."

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever man, but when I come back, I want this place clean. It's disgusting."

Adam rolled his eyes, before shuffling back into the bathroom. I sighed, grabbing my wallet and walking out the door. I wasn't even sure where I was going, until I was there. I walked in and sat in the same place I did last time. But I was in a better mood today.

"Back already?" a voice asked. I turned around and saw a tired, but beautiful woman.

"Hey Anna." I said with a grin. "Thought I might stop by. Was getting pretty hungry."

She smiled at me, handing me a menu. "Anything to drink?"

"Pepsi." I said with a large grin. "I want a Pepsi."

"A Pepsi man, huh?" Anna said with a smile, as she walked off to get my drink. When she came back, she said. "You can tell a lot about a person by the drinks they get."

I took a small sip out of the straw. Perfect. "Oh? And how is that?"

She shrugged, leaning against the booth. "I don't know. I think it's a gift. My momma used to say that about clothes."

"Now clothes I get. But how my beverage choice defines my character is beyond me."

"I don't know how to explain it," she said, dramatically rolling her eyes. "It was something I was born into. Do you know what you want to eat?"

I glanced quickly down at the menu and asked for the first thing I saw. "A burger."

"Cheese?"

"None."

"Pickles?"

"Yes please."

"Mayo, mustard?"

"Heavy on the Mayo, no mustard."

She nodded, writing this down on her note pad. "Do my food choices tell my future?" I asked teasingly.

"Now you're just being silly." She said with a laugh, taking my order to the kitchen.

While she was gone, I noticed I was still smiling. Shrugging it off, I tried to control my facial expressions.

When she came back, we talked. Just talked while time seemed limitless. "Another not-busy day?" I asked, secretly thankful.

"There are hundreds of restaurants in Oklahoma City, and this isn't exactly the best place to come for food." Anna said, staring disdainfully at my empty plate.

"I thought it was pretty good." I said. "Though the coffee…" I trailed of teasingly, knowing that she made it.

She huffed, hiding a smile. "Well then, I guess that's your last one." She took my dishes into the kitchen and I checked my watch. I still had plenty of time.

"So how did you do on your finals?" Anna called from the kitchen.

I stood up, walking to the bar. "It wasn't bad. Actually, I think I did pretty good."

"See." She said with a bright smile as she walked out of the kitchen. "What did I tell you? When do you know for sure?"

"Tomorrow." I said, picking up a salt shaker. It was a round ball, completely clear.

Anna crinkled her nose in distaste. "I hate those stupid salt shakers." She said, angrily. "I told Marie that they looked stupid, but she didn't believe me."

I bit my lip, trying to hide my amusement. "There actually pretty cool. I kinda like 'em."

She glared at me exasperated. "Of course you do Ponyboy."

I laughed, loving the way it felt. "Man, I haven't laughed in awhile." I said with a grin.

"That's sad." She said with a small smile. "You don't like collage?"

I shrugged. "I like collage fine. My roommates a crack head, and the classes are tedious, but the actual institution suits me fine. I just miss my brothers."

"Darry and Sodapop." Anna says in a matter-of-fact tone, whipping down the counters.

I nod. "Hell, right now, I even miss Steve."

"You don't like Steve much, do you?" she asks, tilting her head to the side.

"Oh, I like Steve fine. He doesn't like me much though."

"Why's that? I can't imagine anyone not liking you." She says. With her back turned, I feel myself turn red.

"Oh," I rush on, desperate to fend of the flush on my cheeks. "Steve and Soda are best friends. They have been since they were three years old. But Soda and I are just as close. Not to mention that were blood brothers, and Soda's always trying to watch out for me…" I trailed off, not explaining it well.

"Steve's jealous."

I shrug. "I think he's getting better. His dad's an ass, and treats him real bad. Not near as bad as Johnny, but-" I freeze, wincing at the painful memory of my late friend.

"Who's Johnny?" Anna asks, oblivious to my internal struggle.

"A…. An old friend."

"Do you see him a lot like Steve and Two-Bit?"

I trailed off, not liking the subject. "No, not anymore."

Before she can question me, a large group of people come in, ready to be seated. Anna looks apologetically at me, and says, "Sorry Pony, I gotta take this. But I'll see you tomorrow, ok?"

"Tomorrow?" I trail off confused.

"I want to know how you did on your finals!" she calls over her shoulder. "I'll see you then!" and she starts seating the family.

**Ok, here it is :) Wasn't tons, but I wanted to put some background. The last chapter was simply a time/place setter. Wanted to get things rolling. Plus I wanted to foreshadow the next couple of chapters. Reviews are so appreciated! I love them and you all are amazing. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Ok, this one's a bit longer. I'm trying to pace these out, but I'm getting kind of exited about posting them. And the reviews are great you guys. I love them, and they keep my going, even more enthusiastic about updating. I'm still waiting for this Beta Reader to message me back, so please excuse any grammar/spelling mistakes.**

**I'm going over these, the ones I already wrote, and I'm pretty satisfied with what I have so far. But I am totally up to suggestions, and I love to hear your input. You guys are the reason I'm posing this anyways. **

I was jolted away from a very vivid dream. Talking about Johnny must have been taboo, because the ring of his last words rang through my head. _"Stay gold."_

When I heard that phrase, an onslaught of emotions always assaulted me. I roughly pushed away any thoughts of Johnny and whipped my face of the unconscious tears. Damn it.

I jumped out of bed, ignoring the clock on my bed flashing a bright red 3:30 am. I walk over to my desk, and pull out my binder from the paper. Freshman year of collage, I joined the school paper, quickly rising to editor. It was extremely time consuming.

When I told Darry and Soda that I joined the paper, they both were really exited, congratulating me, encouraging me to make friends. After Johnny and Dallas died, I became reclusive and almost unresponsive. I got up, ate, went to school, came home, did my homework, smoked, and went to bed. Everyday it was the same thing. Soda moved back into my room, there to help me with the relentless nightmares.

Every night I had horrible nightmares. About just about anything you can think of. The fire, Johnny and Dally's deaths, and soon it turned into the deaths of my brothers. I couldn't sleep, didn't want to eat. It was pretty bad.

Then I realized that I was hurting Soda and Darry more than I every could have imagined. Darry lost sleep, worrying about me. Soda became distant, and lost his job. So I snapped back into it, desperately trying to save my brothers. I took collage classes, and made sure I stayed at the top of my class. When my OU letter came, I knew it was a blessing.

Darry worried that the paper would've brought down my grade average. But when I brought home straight A's, Darry had no reason to call me out. I knew he was afraid that I was going to get obsessed with the paper, and leave all my problems behind. But he ended up encouraging me to do what I loved. And I did.

So I went over all the articles, bringing my red pen down on the mistakes. By the time 7 am passed, I had already finished all of the editing for the last edition of the year. It was a bitter sweet feeling.

"Dude, what the hell are you doing up?" Adam moaned, bringing his blanket over his head. "Do you ever sleep?"

I laughed. "Sometimes. Do you ever go to class?"

I heard a grunt, and I laughed again. "I'm going to take this down to Pat's." another grunt responded. Pat's was the name of the building that the paper HQ was at. I have no clue why they called it Pat's, but I always assumed it was tradition.

"Ponyboy Curtis, I swear I have never been in this building when you weren't in here." A voice calls behind me. I turn around and see Paul, my closest friend at OU.

I laugh. "I could say the same about you."

Paul turns around in mock shock. "Was that a real laugh? Alright, who killed Ponyboy, and why of all people did you take over his body?"

"Shut up Paul." I said, sitting down at my desk.

"Is it a girl? Did Ponyboy finally find a girl?" When I responded in silence, Paul looked at me in real shock. "Seriously?"

I glare at him. "Drop it Paul." I was unable to completely deny my bright mood. I had already set out a time that I was going to the diner tonight.

"Ok Pony." He said with a grin. "But if it turns serious, I want to be the first to meet her."

I roll my eyes, and hand Paul a stack of papers. "Go give these to George. Tell him that those articles are ready to be printed."

"You can't hide from me Ponyboy!" Paul taunted before walking out of my office area.

After an hour or so, the taunts subsided and we changed the topic to the summer. We shot the bull for awhile, until it was 2:30. "Alrighty then." I said, standing up.

"Where are you going?" Paul asked, playing with the rubric's cube on my desk.

"Finals are posted. Or did you forget?"

Paul visibly pales. "Oh, yeah. We've gotta go get the envelopes from the front office, right?"

I nod. "Come with me. We'll go, and get it over with."

Paul shrugs, but I can tell that it's bothering him. Paul is that quick whit kind of guy, great personality. But his memory is shit.

"I'm sure you did fine," I say comfortingly.

"Yeah," he said his face paling. "No big deal." But I could see how he was worrying. "Come on, let's go get our scores."

We trudged up to the front office, nervous. When the woman handed us our envelopes, we just stared.

Paul wouldn't open his. "Paul, I'll open it if you want." I offered. With a small nod, we started back towards Pat's. I ripped open his grades.

"You passed them all." I said with a grin. I had considered messing around with him, but was unable to after seeing his terrified face. "You even got high marks on your calculus exam."

Paul visibly relaxed, taking the paper from me and examining it on his own. "Ok, fine with me. How did you do?"

I opened my envelope quickly. All high marks. I smiled slightly, trying to cover my cocky grin off.

Paul snatched my paper out of my hand. Skimming through it, he rolled his eyes. "Of course. Damn man, this is your third year in a row, huh?"

I shrugged. "No big deal. Let's go out and celebrate." I said, thinking of a little diner I wanted to go to.

"Now you're speaking my language. Were going to Sam's." Paul said with a roughish grin.

"Paul…" I trailed off, groaning.

"Nope. I'm 21 this year and I'm sure as hell celebrating like we should."

"But I'm not 21." I reminded Paul, walking inside Pat's.

"Hell Pony, I've been going to Sam's for years! They sure as hell don't care about underage drinking. I need to show you something out of you boring life!" he laughed.

"Thanks Paul." I responded dryly.

"Oh come on Pony! There's enough reason to celebrate! Schools over, you did great on your finals, and you found yourself a girl."

"I do not have a girl." I snapped.

"Yet."

I shrugged my shoulders. "Ok, fine. We'll go out tonight. But I gotta do a couple of things first."

Paul wagged his eyebrows at me. "Gonna go see your girlfriend?"

I looked heavenward. "This is why I don't tell you anything Paul."

Paul laughed. "Oh, someone has to bust your nuts. And I'm subbing in while your brother's are gone."

Paul had met my brother's when I came home from collage freshman year. Paul and I were actually roommates that year. When the year ended, I invited Paul to come spend a week at our house. We joked around, and he made friends with my brothers. He actually made pretty good friends with Steve, something that kinda freaked me out.

Paul is what any greaser would call, a true-blue Soc. Not because he dresses fancy, or is a snob. But because he has more money than the President. I didn't even find out until his driver came and picked him up from the house. I ended up spending a couple of weeks at his lake house last summer. But he's more casual than Two-Bit. Shaggy brown hair that's always in his deep blue eyes, right down to the loose jeans and t-shirt's he wears.

"Yeah well, my brother's aren't here right now. Give me a break before I have to go back."

"Shut up." Paul laughed. "You miss them every day." And I did. The phone used to be too expensive, I wrote to them all once a week. I even wrote Steve. Every once in awhile that is. But once I started working at the Daily News, a big newspaper in Oklahoma City, I was able to call them once or twice a week.

I spent the next hour and a half cleaning out my desk. It was a sobering experience, and I knew that it would be so much harder next year when I would be graduating. After I cleaned out my desk, I went back to my dorm to get ready to go to the diner.

"Don't forget to meet me at Sam's at 8:30!" Paul shrieked at me.

"Yeah, yeah." I muttered under my breath.

**Not that much longer, but I feel like were finally able to start the story now. Who likes Paul? I'm at that point where I can make him a nobody, or a key player. What do you guys think? Again, any and all constructive criticism is welcomed; I want to know what I can do to become a better writer. Thank you guys!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Ok, here it is:) I thought I would give you a character that you soon won't forget! I wasn't able to put much of her in here, but I wanted to introduce her. Thank you, by two reviewers for, well, reviewing. They made me smile, and gave me a thumbs up to keep Paul. Though I would really appreciate it if the rest of you guys would please review. Gives me some motive. Any ideas/thoughts are taken into serious consideration and greatly appreciated. I want to know what you guys think about this!**

I found myself walking to the diner faster than usual. This struck me as odd, and I immediately slowed my pace, nervous. By the time I got to diner, I realized why I should have waited. It was packed. I saw Anna from the corner of my eye, taking orders in a frantic-like state.

"Pony!" she cried in relief when she saw me. "Oh, it's so good to see you. God, it's packed."

My eyebrow creased in worry. "Don't you have anyone to help you?"

She rolled her eyes in frustration, glancing over her shoulder to look at a table. "Marie called in sick and Stephen's on break." She bit her lip nervously. "Ponyboy, could you do me a favor?"

I immediately nodded, unconcerned of what she wanted me to do. "Anything."

She smiled at me, flashing her beautiful teeth. "Would you just sit over at that table with Ellie? Just for a couple of minutes?" she pleaded.

"Ellie?" I said blankly, not understanding.

"My daughter?" she reminded me, steering me over to a table occupied by a little girl. "I would owe you. I just hate to leave her here by herself, and I have to work…" she trailed off, looking desperately over her shoulder.

"No…it's ok. I'll look after her." I said. Anna's whole face relaxed, and she jumped up to give me a quick peck on the cheek. My face burned, but I couldn't help by smile.

"Thank you so much! Oh God… I'll bring you some coffee." She said, walking back towards the table. She suddenly stopped, and turned around to say, "As soon as I get off, I want to know how you did on your finals!"

I laughed, nodding my head before turning around to look at the little girl in front of me. Ellie was probably the cutest little kid I ever saw. And that's not me saying that because I have a crush on her mother. No, she was adorable. She had blonde little curls that framed her face. They fell down to her back, pulled up by a pink headband that matched her pink dress.

When I approached her, she glanced up from her coloring book to show me her bright green eyes. Kinda like my own. "Hi." I muttered shyly. I have never spent time with anyone younger than me. I was always the baby of the group, never to be the older one. I didn't have any real experience with kids.

Anna swept back in, ushering me to take a seat. As I sat down, she turned back to Ellie. "Ellie sweetheart, this is a good friend of mine. His name is Ponyboy. He's going to hang out with you while mommy works, is that ok?"

Ellie looked at my hard, as if trying to determine my character. She finally nodded, bobbing her curls. "Yes mommy."

Anna looked relieved. She turned back to me, and handed me a coffee. "Thank you so much for doing this."

"It's no big deal. Really." And it really wasn't. I was actually looking forward to meet this kid after hearing so much about her. Anna flashed me a quick smile, before running back to work.

"What's you name again?" Ellie asked after her mother had walked away.

"Ponyboy." I said back to her in a quiet voice, unsure how to talk to her.

She giggled. "Dat's a funny name. Pony is like a horsy, right?" Ellie asked, looking up at me. I nodded, laughing along with her. "Why you have name like dat?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "My parents gave it to me. I have no control over my name. I have a brother named Sodapop." I said, wincing at the formal way I was talking to this kid.

She giggled again. "I like soda." She glanced away from me and tried to catch her mother's attention as she walked nearby. "Mommy, can I have a soda?"

Anna sighed. "I don't know baby."

"Pweeeease?" she said, sticking out her lower lip. "Just a wittle?"

Anna bit her lip. "Fine… Just a bit. What kind?"

"Pepsi!" she called out, smiling. Anna looked over at me.

"I told you soda defines character." A smile crept across my face she rushed away.

"I really like Pepsi too." I told the little girl, hoping to find something in common with this little girl.

Her eyes grew big as she stared up at me. "You do?"

I nodded. "It's my favorite drink. I used to have one almost every day when I was a kid."

"Every day?" she said, her eyes growing wider. Oops. This may have been the wrong thing to say.

"Well not every day." I said quickly. "Sometimes…if I was good."

"Did you get into trouble when you wassa kid?" the little girl asked me, munching on a French fry.

I shrugged. "Sometimes. But I had to be very good for my brothers. But I still got into trouble sometimes."

Ellie laughed. "I get in trwoble with mommy sometimes. She puts me in time out when I draw on her papers."

I grinned in amusement. "You're a kid. It's ok to get into trouble sometimes."

Ellie beamed at me. "I like you. You wanna color wif me?"

So for the next hour and half, we chatted. I talked to her about preschool, and told her about collage. Or at least I tried to explain what collage was. After awhile of her looking blankly at me, we moved on to another subject. I told her a bit about my brother's and I learned a couple of things about Anna.

"Mommy don't like snakes." She told me matter-of-factly. "When I found one, she started crying, and we had to leave the park."

I raised my eyebrow in interest. "Oh really?"

Ellie simply nodded. I felt kinda bad for having Anna's daughter spill the beans about her. But I figured that this was like practicing or something. And Ellie was not at all shy. She was glad to tell me anything and everything about her mommy. But she was even more enthusiastic to tell me about herself. By the time the diner closed up, I felt like I knew Ellie like the back of my hand. She told me everything about her life, her friends at pre-school, what she wasn't to be when she grows up….

"Did you guys have fun?" Anna asked, walking over to us after changing out of her uniform.

Ellie nodded enthusiastically. "I like Pony! Can we play blocks at our house?"

Anna laughed. "Maybe sometime soon."

Ellie frowned and took my hand in her own. "Are you sure? I wanna show him my room with the pink wittle chair and my dwress up toys. And my baby dolls!"

Anna looked at me in surprise, a small smile playing on her face. "I'm sure we can work something out soon. Why don't you go get the pictures you drew? We can put them on you art wall."

Ellie dropped my hand and ran back to the table, having completely forgotten about her question for the time being. Anna turned around and looked at me in amazement. "How did you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Make my daughter fall in love with you!"

I shrugged, my facing coloring slightly. "She's a cute kid. She was very friendly. We just… talked."

Anna frowned. "That's odd. She doesn't usually talk to anyone." A small smile played on her lips. "Now tell me, how did you do on your finals?"

I shrugged, pulling out the paper. Anna glanced over it, before laughing. "I told you! I told you would do great." She said, wrapping me in a hug.

I may have held her slightly longer than necessary. I don't think she noticed.

**What do you guys think? I'm just curious is all. Reviews are so loved, it's ridiculous. I love you all, and I hope that you have a great week!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Here is another chapter! I know it's a day late. But it's the second one this week, so it should be ok, right? I added another Paul scene in here. For you guys to be able to test the waters with him. Not as a replacement for Johnny of course. No once can replace him. But as another friend. I think I might add him in the story, to make things a bit more interesting. Paul kind of reminds me of the Green Arrow off of Smallville. But a lot sillier, and with the family problems of Lex Luther. Any ideas for the next few chapters? Anything else you guys want to see? Please review and tell me! And if not, review anyways, because they make my day, and make me want to write more.**

"Dude, you've got it bad." Paul said over his beer.

I nodded my head, not trying to deny it. "It's controllable." I said. "But I'm not sure I want it to be."

Paul sighed, running his hand through his hair. "I'm just not sure about the whole, 'I have a kid thing'. That may very well come back and bite you in the butt."

"What do you mean?" I asked, taking a drag from a cigarette. I glanced sadly at my latest attempt to quit, shot down. I hadn't smoked in 15 days. "Ellie's dad just bailed out, leaving them both alone. I think Anna lives by herself. Ellie doesn't even know who her dad is."

Paul shook his head. "Poor kid." He said with a deep sigh. "Look, I'm not trying to grill this chick. If you really like her, than I'm sure I will too. But I don't want you to get screwed over here."

His tone caught my attention. "What do you mean by that?"

Paul hesitated. "I don't know this girl. I have no idea who she is, or how she's like. But I've been in my dad's business meetings enough to know about scams. My dads an asshole and a jerk. But he can sniff out a scam a mile away. I just don't want this girl to come in your life, take your money, leave you with a kid and take off." He held his hands up at my expression. "I told you not to take it offensively. I'm just trying to make sure you're not going to get hurt."

I frowned. "I know. But she's not like that. I really like her."

"Are you going to ask her out?"

"I asked her if she wanted to go to a movie this weekend." I admitted. "To celebrate the end of the week, and end of the school year."

Paul smiled. "Cheers to that my friend." he said clanking his glass against mine. "So how was the kid? Was she crazy?"

I chuckled. "I haven't been around kids a lot, but I don't think that kids are supposed to be that cute. She was absolutely adorable."

Paul slapped his hand to his forehead. "You are _so_ far gone. Just take this slow. You've only known the girl for a couple of weeks. Go slow man. You'll thank me in the long run."

I nodded. "I know. Before I forget," I remembered, referring to the very rushed phone call I had gotten from my brother's before we came to the bar. Rushed on my end that is. "Darry want's to know if you want to come down for a week."

Paul smiled. "God, I love your brothers. Yeah, if it's cool with you, that would be really great."

"So you're coming home with us next weekend?"

Paul shook his head. "I'll come down a day or two after you get in. You need to see your brothers, and I have to get home to put all of my crap up. Not to mention I have to get a formal, F-U from my father." Paul said in a angry, tired voice. Unsure what to say to this, I looked deep into my bottle of beer, hoping to find some answers. Paul got really quiet and his voice grew gentle. "Hey Pony…what was Johnny like?"

I cringed at the thought of my late friend. He seemed to be haunting me the past couple of days. "Johnny…." I trailed off, feeling weird using his name. "Johnny was a lot like you. But much quieter and a lot less confident."

"So not that much like me." Paul laughed, trying to lighten the mood, letting out an impressive, if not disgusting belch. I blame it on the 6 shots of tequila he's already ingested.

"He dealt with his parents a lot differently." I murmured, staring at a group of guys laughing at the end of the bar. "His dad hated him… and his mom was an alcoholic… he didn't really have parents. And life just shoved him down." I placed a finger at the end of my chin. "If he was a Socs or was born in a rich family, or even a nice family, I think he would have been like you."

Paul's face was pale. As he stared into space, his eyes filled up with unshed tears. "The good guys always die Pony. Sometimes I think it's just not worth being a good guy."

I nodded, struck by the truth in his words. The fuzzy words that he said pressed through my thick alcohol haze. Our next shot was dedicated to Johnny.

* * *

><p>"Ponyboy." Soda said on the phone. "I said I want you home <strong>well<strong> before your birthday. Not the **day** before your birthday. You need to work on you listening skills."

"I know Soda." I murmured, looking around at my nearly empty dorm room. "I'm going to be there as soon as I can. And it will be two days, thank you very much."

"Why can't you come tomorrow like you had originally planned?" Soda whined completely ignoring my logic. "That would have given us three weeks before you went back to Paul's. Now we only have two."

"Soda," I laughed. "I'm going to be at Paul's for like a week and a half. Then I'm straight back in Tulsa. It's not like spring break or somethin',"

"I know…" Soda sighed. "I just miss you. It's not the same without you here. Your gonna have to come and spend a couple of days at the apartment."

"The one you share with Steve?" I asked dryly. "Truth be told, I don't think Steve wants me hanging out around his house."

"Oh, Steve can bite me." Soda muttered. I heard arguing in the background. Soda shouted away from the phone, 'No, I said Steve frightens me!'

"Soda!" I called, bringing his attention back to the phone. "Tell Darry that I said-"

"No you can tell him." Soda interrupted, his voice still weak from laughter. "Darry just walked in."

I heard talking in the background, and the phone was handed to Darry. "Hello?" a deep voice asked.

"Darry?"

"Ponyboy!" Darry said, his voice brightening. "How have you been?"

I warmed up to the sound of Darry's voice, reminding me of how much I really missed my brothers. "I'm doing good Darry."

"Were gonna get your scores in soon." Darry said. "Were all proud of you kid. I'm sure you did great."

Pride swelled in my chest. Wanting my brother to find out on his own, I responded with a simple chuckle and a, "I did better than I thought I would have."

"Well I'm sure you did great." Darry said, only widening my grin. "So what's Soda saying about you not coming home for another week?"

"Well," I trailed off, not wanting to lie to Darry. Darry and I had gotten along much better and become quite a bit closer after Dally and Johnny died. After I got over my depression thing that is. "I've got some things I need to do down here. Just for a couple of more days. Not even an entire week." Six days. But whatever.

"I don't know kid." Darry said. "You've been gone for quite awhile. We just miss you is all. Want you to come home."

"I want to come home." I said. "I've got this thing on Saturday, and-"

"What thing?" Darry asked.

My heart raced. I had every intention of telling Soda and Darry about Anna. I just hadn't expected to tell him so soon. "Uh, just hanging out with a friend. An end of the year celebration." Which wasn't a lie if you thought about it.

"Alright Ponyboy." Darry said, thankfully not catching on the whole date thing. Which is odd for Darry. "I don't want you to get into any trouble though. No crazy parties. I mean it Pony."

"I know Darry." I laughed.

"Alright, Soda says he loves you." Darry paused for a second, listening to the loud voices in the background. "And so does Two-Bit."

I laughed again. "Tell them I love them. And tell Tow-Bit to go home."

"Alright kid. Be safe."

"Bye Darry." I hung up the phone, and placed my hand to my throbbing head and heart. I blame it on the hangover.

**Like it? Have any thoughts? Please take those three minutes and review. It offers encouragement and keeps me going. Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated, and so are the amazing complements you guys!**


	6. Chapter 6

**You got to know I love you guys. Especially when I write the longest chapter yet for you! I was supposed to wait another day, but I got all exited. Ponyboy is FINALLY going to do something about his relationship. First date baby! Woo Hooo! You guys are really amazing. I got all of these reviews which made my weekend (Thus the longest chapter yet). **

**Any of you have any ideas yet? I love love love love love reviews so very much. I promise I'll write more if you review more. You guys are truly awesome! Here it is!**

I spent every day at the diner for the next week, some days for ten minutes, other's for an hour and a half. I ended up spending a great portion of that time with Ellie. My fondness of the little girl soon grew to be a strong attachment, and found myself looking forward to seeing her as well as her beautiful mother.

When Saturday rolled around, I asked Anna if Ellie wanted to come along with us. "Are you sure?" Anna asked in shock.

I shrugged. "Sure, why not? You said it yourself it would be a hassle to find a babysitter. And I sure don't mind her coming along. We could all do something together, getting more comfortable outside of diner and all. I think she might like it."

"You sure you don't mind? I'm sure I could find someone if you want it to just be us too." Anna said. But I could see her shinning at the idea already.

"If it's alright with you, I want her to go. It will be fun!"

Anna beamed at me. "You don't know how much this means to me. I'm sure she's going to be thrilled."

And she was. On Friday when she was at the diner, it was all she could talk about. "Awre we still gowing to the movie tomowwow?" "What will de movie be about?" "Are we going somewhere to eat?" "Will you be dere the whole time?"

I found her questions amusing, answering every one with enthusiasm. On Saturday night, after I had put all of my stuff in the bed of my truck I went to Anna's apartment. I had been nervous all afternoon, spending extra time in picking out my outfit. As I knocked on her door, I contemplated on whether or not I should have worn my new jeans, nervously straightening out my shirt.

As the door swung open, I remembered my reasons of coming here tonight. Anna opened the door wearing a beautiful pink sundress, and a stunning smile. "There you are." Anna beamed. "We've been waiting for you."

Ellie popped her head out from behind her mother's legs, with a worried expression on her face. When she saw me, her expression changed to relief. "I thought you forgot!"

I laughed, crouching down. "Are you kidding me? I've been waiting for this all week." And I had been. Constantly worried, yet extremely exited about tonight.

Ellie beamed. "Good! I browt some crayons."

"Oh good." I said in childish relief. "I was worried."

Anna looked down at us fondly. "Are you ready to go Ellie?"

Ellie nodded her head enthusiastically. "I brought a pap-pack." She said, proudly presenting me with her little bright pink bag. "I got my toys."

Anna sighed. "Alright. Don't loose any of them." She brought her eyes up to mine.

"You look beautiful Anna." She blushed prettily.

"Thank you. You do look pretty dashing yourself." She said as she put in an earring. "Are you ready?"

I spread my arms out in front of me. "Yeah, I'm ready." We walked to my car, and Anna placed her hand at the crook of my arm.

"You sure you don't mind?" she said, motioning to Ellie.

I shook my head. "I like having her around." I confessed, a slight blush spreading across my face. "Not to mention, you're going to be there."

Anna blushed this time. But she kept her hand on my arm. I talked to Ellie most of the way there, explaining why everything was in the back of my car.

"After I drop you guys off, I'm going to drive home to Tulsa."

"You're going home?" Anna asked.

"Just for a couple of weeks." I amended. "Then I'm going to be back up here with Paul. I'm gonna come by as soon as I'm back, bugging you."

"You don't bug me." Anna said laughing. "You happen to make my day that much more interesting. Keeps me on my toes."

"I won't get to see you?" Ellie asked from the back.

"I'll be back here soon!" I told her. "I'll give your mom my phone number and you and her can call me in the next two weeks."

"Really?" Ellie asked, her eyes growing wide. "I can call you?"

"Any time you want. I'll be offended if you don't"

"You can call us too! Right mommy?"

"He better." Anna said softly, looking over through the corner of her eye. I grinned.

We pulled into the movie theater, and I helped Anna get everything she needed. She refused buying snacks at the theater saying she already stocked up. Ingenious. So after insisting on buying the tickets, I went to grab a couple of sodas.

"Pepsi!" Ellie cried out when she saw the bottle. I smiled at her, both of us giving Anna a sneaky grin.

"Pony!" Anna scolded. "The stuff here is way too expensive."

"But mom, it's Pepsi!" Ellie laughed, awarding me with a heart melting grin. I flashed one back at her, before settling in between the two. As the screen flashed, immediately the two of them went silent. Ellie didn't say a single word throughout the entire movie, staring in awe or the screen.

"I'm really glad you both came." I whispered to Anna after watching the movie for a few minutes.

Anna beamed back at me. "I'm really glad we came to. Thank you for letting me bring Ellie."

I laughed. "Anytime."

She smiled and took my hand in hers, holding it here. I felt a warm flush in my cheeks but made myself dim down my smile, and tightened our hold. I looked over at Anna as she watched the movie, and appreciated how pretty she looked, without having to put on tons of makeup. I constantly brought my face down before she caught me though. At least I think.

By the time the movie ended, Ellie's enraptured attention had turned into a crash landing. She had her entire body pressed up against my body, and her arms were wrapped around the arm that wasn't occupied by her mother.

"Come on kid." I muttered, picking her up in my arms, laying her head against my shoulder. Anna grabbed the crook of my arm, and walked with us slowly to the car. While I put the kid inside and got her buckled in the very confusing car seat, Anna leaned back from the front, guiding the right buckles in. We both laughed before I jumped into the front seat.

"What do you say we stop and get an ice-cream?" I asked quietly, loving the fact that I could hold her hand. And hating the fact that I sounded like the same 14 year old kid who had never had a first kiss.

Anna looked back at her daughter, before nodding with a sneaky smile. "Ok."

"I'll run inside and grab us one. What kind do you like?" I asked, pulling into a little ice-cream shop.

"Strawberry." She said, watching me jump out of the car. I jogged inside, grabbing us both a strawberry ice-cream cone, before running back out. We leaned our seats back just a little, and looked out of my sunroof at the stars.

"I used to watch the sunset every evening." I whispered. She looked over at me in surprise.

"I did that for awhile. While I was pregnant with Ellie, I would go out onto the deck of our apartment and just watch the sunset." Anna said, looking at the stars above us. "Some nights I would just come out and look at the stars. I checked a book out of the library once about the constellations." She moved her body right against mine, pointing to a little cluster of stars.

"That's the big dipper, that's Orion the hunter, there's the little dipper, and there's," she said, pointing to another random cluster, "is Virgo the maiden."

"They're beautiful." I whispered, looking down at Anna's face. I leaned down to her blushing cheeks, inches away from touching her lips with my own…

"Momma?" a sleepy voice asked. Anna and I jerked back, turning around to look at the little girl who was half asleep. "Are we home yet?"

"A-almost baby. Just a minute." Anna stuttered, fixing her seat. "Go ahead and go back to sleep baby. I'll wake you up when we get home."

"I'm not tired…." But within minutes she was fast asleep. The car ride home was quiet. We were both nervous and jumpy about being in that awkward moment. I don't even know if she want's me to kiss her. She seems flirty, and she acts like she likes me. But we never talked about making this a relationship…

I didn't even realize that we had pulled into her house because I was too busy mulling over the night and my most recent attempt on smooching on the girl in the seat next to me. I gently took Ellie out of her car seat and grabbed her little bag, letting Anna get the seat. I slowly and very carefully walked up the stairs. When we reached the apartment, I waited for Anna to get the keys and open the door. I couldn't help but look down at Ellie, looking fondly at the way her blonde curls splayed on my shoulder. Ok, maybe I was pretty far gone.

"Sorry if the house is a bit of a mess. Ellie must get into everything." Anna said apologetically, opening the door. She opened the door to a very clean house, other than the one of two toys on the couch. A lot of the furniture looked old, but it was all being very well taken care of.

"Nice place." I whispered, still trying not to wake up the little girl in my arms.

"Thank you." She said. "I'm a bit of a neat freak. But I like having a clean home."

I chuckled. "Where were you when I was living with my brothers? That house was always dirty."

Anna laughed with me. "That's because you were all teenage boys. I'm impressed that the building is still standing." She said leading me to a room. She opened a door to an all pink room, very tidy. I walked over to Ellie's bed, lying her down. Carefully taking off her shoes, I placed her under the covers, tucking her in.

Anna just watched, smiling. I blushed deeply, realizing that she had her dress still on. What the hell was I supposed to do with that? "Um, does she need Pj's….?" I asked.

Anna nodded, taking my hand and bringing me into the living room. "I'll get it later. She'll be fine for awhile."

We both froze realizing that we were alone for the first time that night. I grinned at Anna, saying, "So stars are your hobby, right?"

Anna slumped on her couch, motioning for me to do the same. As I settled in, she said, "Yes, I have a thing for the constellations, Mr. Know-it-all. There beautiful. What about you sunset boy?"

"What about me?"

"What are your hobbies?"

I thought about it for a few minutes. "Well, as you obviously know, I do enjoy writing."

Anna rolled her eyes. "I didn't see that one coming."

"Well I like to read, and um, run."

"Running?"

"Yeah." I said. "I was on the varsity track team for freshman, junior and senior year."

"Why not sophomore?" Anna asked curiously.

I have told Anna everything. I've told her everything about my home life except for Johnny and Dallas. I'm far too protective of their memories, and I'm afraid to tell her. So I responded with a shrug, and a simple. "It was a long year."

"I know what that's like." Anna said, rolling her eyes again. "I became pregnant at the end of my sophomore year of high school."

I winced. "That had to be rough."

"It was." Anna agreed. "But I had a few good friends who stuck by me. So it wasn't as bad as it could have been."

"Friends sure change a lot." I agreed. "Do you still keep in touch? With your friends I mean."

Anna nodded. "A couple of them, yes. I actually have a very, very good friend that lives on the outskirts of Tulsa, right around where you live."

"Really?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "Maybe you can come down for a week. You know," I trailed off. "Maybe meet my brothers."

Anna smiled real big. "I would really like that." She turned her head slightly, and looked at the clock. "Oh my goodness Pony, it's almost 1:00 in the morning!"

I blushed a deep red. Again! "I'm sorry for keeping you both out so late…"

"No not that." Anna said, waving her hand to dismiss the thought. "You're not going to get in Tulsa till really late. You sure your gonna leave tonight?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm gonna surprise my brothers. There not expecting me until tomorrow night. It'll be fun." I said with a smirk.

"Hold on one second." She said, running to the kitchen. I stood up, twisting my hands together, and laughing when she came out with a Pepsi. "Here you go. Some caffeine if you get sleepy."

"Some how, this just doesn't every get old to me. Thank you very much." I said, my voice growing deep. Anna came close to me, both of us hesitating. I slowly leaned down my head, getting close enough to where I could almost brush my lips against hers. Opening my eyes to make sure she was ok with it, I leaned down and pressed my lips against hers.

Her lips were warm and full. Full of passion and energy, but also full of shyness and a bit clumsiness. I moved my lips lightly against hers for a few more moments, before pulling away from her slowly.

"Wow." She whispered.

I grinned. I couldn't help it. What else were you supposed to do to a response like that? "Wow is right." I said, still feeling the tingles run up and down my spine. "Thank you for that." I whispered, before taking a quick peck at the top of her head.

"Anytime. You call me tomorrow, and tell me you got in safe." Anna said. We quickly exchanged our phone numbers, shared another quick kiss, and I left, heading back to Tulsa.

**Did you like it? Extra long chapter! Took me long enough to write it. Thank you all for the amazing reviews! Please review for this one too! Tell me what you liked, what you didn't like. I'll update sometime later this week! **


	7. Chapter 7

**Ok, this has been a really busy week for me. My parents have decided to redo the whole upstairs of our house. And since I'm the only one still living here, I have to help. Blah. So this chapter's not too long, but I felt bad because it's a day past due. I probably won't be able to update until Sunday though. I'm kinda going through a bit of writers block. I know I know….shocking. But it's really making me feel a little helpless. So I'm still going to write this story, but until I can find my groove again, I might be posing just one chapter a week.**

**Thank you all for you're amazing reviews. Those are the reason I'm still writing. Ideas are amazing. I know what I want the final outcome to be. But I'm not sure what I want in the in-between. So ideas are awesome, something for me to write about. What do yall want to happen while Paul comes over? That would be a really big help. Thanks again! **

**Read Author's note**

By the time I stopped turned in my key that I had forgotten to the OU campus, and drove all the way home to Tulsa, it was late. Checking the old watch Darry gave me of my dad's, I saw that it was almost four in the morning. I staggered out of the car tiredly, rubbing my eyes. But I couldn't stop the onslaught of emotions that built up when I saw the house.

This was my home. No matter how far I wanted to run away from my past, from the nightmares that jolted me awake every night, I couldn't deny that this was the place that I was truly at home. My family was inside. My brothers.

I pulled out my bags, dragging them up to the front porch. I only had a few, clothes mostly. But I had a suitcase full of all my personal belongings. After bringing everything in, pulling it into the kitchen, I quietly made my way to see if Darry was inside.

He was. Darry was sprawled out on his bed, his mouth hanging open and emitting loud snores. His bare chest rose and fell to the steady rhythm of his breathing. His hands were raised above his head, touching his thick black curly hair the same that I have on my head. I laughed quietly, realizing how much he looked like Soda. But quite a bit more buff.

I slowly closed the door, and was ready to crash in me and Soda's old room. But when I realized that the bed was currently occupied I groaned. Soda, like Darry, was stretched out across our bed, his head the only thing I could see under all of the covers. His blonde hair was longer, and he looked like he had gotten a pretty nasty cut near his eyebrow. But it was Soda damn it. And he was in my bed.

Sighing, I shuffled into the living room, pleased that Two-Bit or Steve hadn't taken the only comfortable sleeping surface left in the house. I opened one of my suitcases, and pulled on some old sweatpants. I searched blindly in the dark for a blanket, knowing I wouldn't have any luck finding a pillow. So I took off my shirt, and was asleep before my head hit the pillow.

* * *

><p>"Ponyboy?" a distant voice called. I groaned, not wanting to get up for my history lecture. I hate the stupid teacher anyways. I'll just come in a couple of minutes…. Late…<p>

"Ponyboy!" a voice cried happily. I jerked away, pressing my face deeper into the blanket. "Adam! Go the hell away!" I moaned.

Suddenly I was lifted from my bed, and was being turned upside down. "Hey!" I shouted, confused.

"Hell is a strong word buddy!" I was being held upside down, and twirled in a circle.

"Oh God, put me down!" Suddenly I was set back on my feet. When I vision cleared, Sodapop's smiling face appeared. "Soda!" I cried remembering coming in late last night.

Soda wrapped his arms around me, holding me close. "Ponyboy! God it's so good to see you. When did you get here?"

I laughed, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. Way to early to be up right now, that's how late. "About 4 last night. Didn't want to wake you guys up, so I crashed on the couch".

"Aw hell Pony, you should've kicked me awake." Soda said fondly, rubbing my crazy black hair. "Come in the kitchen, I'll make you breakfast." We both shuffled shirtless into the kitchen. Soda opened the fridge and started pulling stuff out. "You hungry?"

I shrugged. "Kinda."

"I'll make you somethin. Come sit down, and I'll go wake up Darry." Soda said. I walked over to the aging table, glancing at the mail on the counter. Bills, bills, OU letter, bills, bills. I raised my eyebrow when I saw a letter written by a woman with very pretty hand writing addressed to my oldest brother.

"Pony?" a deep voice asked. I looked up and saw Darry standing in the doorway, smiling at me.

"Hey Darry." I said, walking over to give him a quick hug. When I pulled away, Darry kept his hands on my arms.

"How have you been kid?"

I shrugged. "I've been great. But glad to be home." I said.

Darry came and sat down at the table, and I realized how much I missed us all sitting here, waiting for Soda to concoct some insane breakfast. We chatted about anything and everything, exchanging news.

"Hey Darry, lookie here." Soda said, pulling out my OU letter and flashed me a teasing grin. "Grades are in."

Darry looked over at me in the corner of his eye, waiting to see if I bombed out this year. I hid my smirk and took another sip of my coffee. While my brothers fussed over the envelope, I thought of Anna. I snagged her number before I left last night. I could call her soon. Not too soon. Maybe sometime this afternoon. It's Sunday so she won't be working…

"Pony, these scores are great!" Soda said, beaming at me from behind the letter. Darry nodded in agreement.

"We'll have a barbeque or something." Darry promised.

"Aw guys." I moaned in distaste. "I'm already having a birthday. We'll just shove it all in there. I don't want to make a big deal out of this."

"Pony, it is a big deal!" Soda cried.

Ready to change the subject, I leaned down and picked up the letter with the pretty handwriting on it. "So Darry, who's Elizabeth Manson?"

Soda frowned, while Darry snatched it from my hands, blushing. "How do you know it's not for me?"

"Soda, you haven't had a steady girlfriend since high-school. Hell, you haven't had a steady interest since high school. Plus, his name is on the front. So Darry, who is she?"

Darry cleared his throat, fiddling with the letter in his hands. "Lisa is a girl… that I've been seeing for a bit."

Soda looked over at me and stage whispered, "It's the boss's daughter."

I hooted in laughter while Darry his Soda upside the head. "The boss's daughter, eh? What happened when he found out?"

"He didn't." Darry said, quickly picking up the dishes on the table. Soda and I cackled, enjoying our brother's obvious discomfort.

"What about you Pony? Any woman in your life?" Darry asked quickly, his ears still red. I stiffened, suddenly growing uncomfortable. But before I could say anything, about Anna or not, the front door slammed open, and in walked Two-Bit. Two-Bit is one of the only people I know that hasn't changed in over 5 years. He still looks just like he did when he was 17 years old. With more facial hair.

"Hey Darry!" Two-Bit shouted, not seeing me. "I accidentally hit your mailbox. Don't worry, I can fix it. But I'm going to need to borrow some duck tape and a hammer." He put his finger to his chin in thought. "And maybe some nails."

"Dammit Two-Bit!" Darry said jumping up, running outside while Soda and I laughed. Two-Bit looked up at us, and upon seeing me hooted in surprise.

"Pony!" He cried, a wide smile spreading across his childish face. I stood up beaming.

"Hey Two-Bit." He ran at me and wrapped me into a bear hug. "It's good to see you!" I wheezed before he released me. "Though it would be better if I could breath. I've only been gone for a couple of months, not years."

"It feels like that long." Soda said, scraping the burnt eggs into the trashcan. "Four months can really do that to you."

"Three and a half months." I corrected. "Not to mention, I spent a fortune on calling you and Darry all the time."

"It was worth it." Soda said, stubbornly cracking another egg into the pan. I shook my head, a small smile spreading across my lips, when the phone rang. I jumped up to grab it, ignoring Soda's curses as he burned another egg.

"Hello?" I answered, ignoring Darry glare as he stormed in for my poor phone greetings.

"Hey, is Sodapop Curtis there?" a deep voice asked. I looked over to see Soda trying to put out a fire he just started in the pan, surrounded by my brother and Two-Bit.

"He's, uh, kinda busy. Can I take a message?"

"Yeah. Tell him that they need him at the shop today. Tell 'em Sam almost blew up an engine, and needs someone to fix it. Steve being out of town, and him not answering his damn phone." The man on the phone grumbled.

"Yeah," I said quickly, hoping not to get caught in a conversation with this guy. "I'll tell him."

Quickly hanging up the phone, I walked back into the kitchen, seeing Soda pull out bowls and Lucky Charms for all of us. "The guy on the phone says they need you at the shop. Something about a guy name Sam almost blowing something up…." I trailed off before digging into my cereal. "Thanks for the cereal."

Soda cursed. "Are you kidding me?" he moaned, before running to grab his keys. "I'll be back soon guys, I gotta check this out."

Listening to Soda slam the door, Darry also stood up, his face grim. "Sorry kid. I feel real bad, but I got to go to work too."

"No worries." Two-Bit said, a big smile spreading across his goofy face. "Me and Pony will go out, just like old times."

"Yeah." I agreed. "Just like old times."

**I know it's kinda short. Ok it's really short. But like I said, I almost didn't get to publish it because of how busy I've been. Thanks again for all of your support. Love you guys!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey you guys! Thank you all for the amazing reviews. I want you all to know how they make my day, really helping me along with this story. I think with your help, I may have an idea of where to go. I had to post this a couple of days early, because I was shocked about the number of mistakes I had blindly made, and was desperate to fix them. Plus update the longest chapter yet:)**

**Greaser for life. Thank you very much for you constructive criticism. You've pointed out quite a few of my flaws. I want to go ahead and address them really quick. My story is kind of in a timeless area. I know that sounds a little odd, but I'm not so exact on the time and place of things, because of the story is based on people I know. So things might get a little mixed up. As I said in the first chapter, I am kinda basing this off of good friends of mine who went through a very similar situation. So forgive me you guys if I mess up on the exacts. My bad. And sorry about Darry/Pony's hair. I haven't been able to check out the book in awhile, and I'm actually waiting for it to be sent to be on Amazon. **

**The second flaw is actually quite embarrassing. I messed up on the age of Ellie. I'm going back to fix it right now, but I want you all to know that Ellie is supposed to be turning FOUR in July. I wasn't sure if I was really going to continue this story at first, so I wasn't really paying attention in the beginning. Thank you Greaserforlife for pointing that out for me. I have been babysitting for about 4 years, if that makes things any better. The little girl in question was ALWAYS talking. Super cute too. **

**Thanks again for all of you guy's help. I don't have a Beta reader. I tried it once, and the person I subscribed too never emailed me back. So I guess I'm being a bit of a baby about it. Since I'm so far along in the story, I'm almost hesitant to grab one. Who knows?**

**PS: One of my reviewers pointed out about the cereal. Sorry I thought I made it clear. Soda kept burning all of the eggs. I always thought he would be a horrible cook. But thank you for the review and the amazing ideas. I love them all and will probably use them**

**Here it is!**

**Please read authors note! Thank you!**

"Remember this?"

"Look at this."

"Does this look the same?"

"Remember when we…?"

"Two-Bit!" I moaned, after listening to him drabble on for half an hour about things I had seen my whole life growing up. "I've been gone for a couple of months. Not years."

"You have been gone for years!" Two-Bit exclaimed. "Three years if I'm correct. And I always am."

"Yeah, but not across the damn country." I sighed, looking at Tulsa. Things were beautiful in the sense of familiarity. I could practically see the 14 year old version of myself running around with Johnny and Dallas. "Not to mention that I come back for long periods of time throughout the year."

Two-Bit shook his head. "It's not the same young one. So you will just have to deal with it. I think I would be a great tour guide." Two-Bit said, before putting a finger to his chin in thought. "Maybe a salesman. I think I would be pretty good at selling houses. Maybe cars? I am extremely charming."

Rolling my eyes, I continued on, listening to Two-Bit's consistent chatting. I had spaced out, getting lost in my own memories, thinking about my brothers, when I remembered Soda's busted eye. "What happened to Soda's eye?"

Two-Bit stopped in mid-sentence and looked over at me with an amused expression. "Haven't asked him yet?" Two-Bit asked. As I shook my head no, Two-Bit began to chuckle like it was a fond memory. "Well my young friend, your brother and Steve finally snapped."

"No." I said in amazement and shock.

"Yes sir. There fine now, both of them acting like it never happened. But the proof is on both of their faces. Steve has a busted lip."

"What was the fight about?"

"I actually don't know. I think that 22 years of pimped up anger finally got the best of them and they brawled it out. The only person who didn't laugh their ass of was Wendy. But she was just trying to be nice. Steve had to conveniently leave for a business trip, and Soda wanted to be here for you when you came home."

I shook my head in wonder and amusement. That was awesome. Finally some ammunition against Steve this year. I stopped when I noticed that Two-Bit had stopped suddenly, his eyes staring widely at a nice Soc's car.

"Come on sticky fingers. I don't want to get caught by the cops today; it's my first day back."

"This is my car." Two-Bit said in awe, placing a hand lightly against the door frame.

"Don't touch things that aren't yours." I said in exasperation. I took a double take. "What do you mean that it's your car? You don't have two quarters to rub together."

"This car's made for me. Look at it! Even the hubcaps are perfect." Two-Bit said, leaning down to run his hands over the tiers.

My eyebrows pulled together. Glancing around, I didn't see anyone in the neighborhood. The car was parked between two nice cars, though not as nice as the one in the middle. "Two-Bit, let's just go. I don't even have my knife on me." I said, referring to the inevitable fight that I knew that we would have gotten into. Trust Two-Bit to take the whole 'Have fun' thing, and blowing it out of proportion. Just like old times my ass.

"Just go stand over there, and tell me if anyone's coming ok?" Two-Bit said pulling out something from the jacket he was wearing.

Sighing, I did as he said, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. Taking a deep drag, I surveyed the abandon neighborhood. Lifting my eyes in surprise, I realized that I was jumped in the neighborhood. Over by the old dumpsters. Though I was jumped just about everywhere.

As I listened to the squeaking of whatever Two-Bit was doing, my thoughts drifted to last night, and my date with Anna. A small smile played across my lips, thinking of watching the stars with her. It was so easy, and I never felt obligated to say something.

"What are you smiling at?" A voice behind me asked. I whipped around to see a hubcap hidden under his shirt. I stood there looking at him critically, leaning against a telephone pole with my cigarette hanging out of my mouth.

"Two-Bit…."I said trailing off. I shook my head and started down the sidewalk again. "Things like that are the reason people think that Greasers are so dumb."

Two-Bit jogged up by me, a large accomplished grin spread across his face. Looking like a vertically challenged pregnant woman, we continued on.

"Let's drop this off at Soda's real quick. He'll probably let me keep it there for awhile." Two-Bit said. I almost shook my head at the thought, but decided to go for the thought of seeing my brother.

"Anything to get that thing off of you." I mumbled, taking the last drag out of my cigarette and stamping it on the ground.

Walking into the little shop of Soda's and Steve's, I was surprised how far the "Fix 'n Go" had gone. The nice furniture and decorative style was neither Soda nor Steve's strong point.

I glanced over at Two-Bit. "Who decorated this?"

"Wendy."

I nodded in understanding as we walked to the front counter. "Ah."

A kid I didn't know was at the front desk. He was probably around 16 or 17. He looked very serious, and his eyes looked at us critically.

"I need to speak to Sodapop Curtis." Two-Bit said, pulling the hubcap out of his shirt. The guy's eyes narrowed.

"Mr. Curtis is seeing a customer right now. He won't be done till later this afternoon."

I looked at the kid in shock. Mr. Curtis? I shuddered.

"Tell his that Two-Bit and Ponyboy are here to see him. He'll come." Two-Bit said with a smirk.

"Mr. Curtis is busy right now." The guys said, looking apprehensive. I grabbed Two-Bit's arm, turning him away from the guy.

"Let's just go. Soda seems pretty busy. We can come back later."

"What the hell am I supposed to do with this?" Two-Bit asked, waving around his hubcap. "I don't know one Soc that won't jump down our throats."

"You shouldn't have taken it." I hissed, trying to bring down my voice. "Just leave it here, and put it in Soda's office."

Two-Bit turned around with a frown. "Well can I put this in his office?" Two-Bit asked.

"I can put it behind the desk if you would like." Two-Bit's frown turned in to an angry snarl. Biting the inside of my lip, I quickly asked the man for a sheet of paper and a pen.

"I can tell him- Hey!" the guy exclaimed when Two-Bit leaned over, pushed him out of the way, and grabbed a note pad and a pen.

Scribbling something down, Two-Bit stuck the note on the hubcap and shoved it over to the skinny looking Soc kid. "Tell him Two-Bit and his brother," Two-Bit said, emphasizing on the word brother, "stopped by to see him."

The boy winced, glancing at me in fear. I rolled my eyes and shrugged, showing the poor kid that Two-Bit was an idiot. Calming down slightly, he called after us as we walked out, "Have a nice day!"

"Two-Bit." I said, looking over at the fuming man. "You would get a lot farther in life if you were nicer."

"I'm nice!" Two-Bit exclaimed. "Damn it, I'm practically Sodapop! That kid just bugs me is all."

I rolled my eyes and listened at Two-Bit drabbled on about the guy and Soda's shop. But I glanced up in confusion when we passed the hair parlor. I hadn't realized the direction that we were headed. "Are we going to the old movie theater?"

"Yup. There's still nothing better to do in this town." We wandered to the ticket booth, and I listened to Two-Bit chat with a few other greasers who had decided to come to the theater. As we walked in, I noticed that we had unconsciously avoided the spot Johnny and I had last sat at.

"Can you believe that I haven't been to the movies here since that night?" I asked. 'That night' became taboo for the night that Johnny and Dallas died. I never even referred it as anything else anymore. So Two-Bit didn't need to ask which night I was talking about.

Two-Bit looked at me seriously for a moment, before shrugging it off and replied with an "It's good for you."

As we watched to movie play, I realized that I had thought about Anna for a big portion of the morning, trying to block out Two-Bits incessant talking. It was putting me on edge. I was way to emotionally attached to this girl. I've only known her for a month, maybe a little less and this… crush is getting out of hand. Hell, I've already invited her to spend the summer with me, not to mention the fact that I'm wrapped around her little daughter's finger… Spending time with them is all I did the last few weeks that I was in Oklahoma City, and now that I'm home, I'm already thinking about her.

"Ponyboy!" Two-Bit screamed at me. I jumped, spilling some of the popcorn that was left.

"What man?" I grouched back, placing a hand over my erratic heart beat. Asshole.

Two-Bit looked at me in amusement. Shaking his head, he said goodbye to the girls he had been flirting with, and stood up with a stretch. I jumped in surprise, realizing that the movie had ended.

"Did you really blank out through that entire movie?" Two-Bit asked as we walked to our house.

I frowned. "I guess so."

"There's got to be a first time for everything, right kid?"

"Not a kid." I muttered looking at the descending sun, with my hands stuck in my pockets, still irritated with Two-Bit for scaring the snot out of me.

Two-Bit seemed to find something very amusing, or if the way he was laughing was any sign. "You're always going to be the kid. You've always been the youngest, and you will always be the youngest. Facts of life kid."

I sighed, looking back into the sunset. I kind of wish Anna was here. I bet she would like the sunsets here. There different. Maybe just to me. They might just be special here because Johnny and I would make it a point to watch them, smoking a cigarette, but there still beautiful. Anna would think there pretty. Even if stars are her things, and sunsets are mine. I would have to show them to her the next time she came around. If she didn't think I was crazy for thinking about her all the time.

As we stepped inside of the house and I collapsed dejectedly against the couch I had slept on the night before. But I watched Two-Bit start to chuckle every few minutes, while he went to go grab a beer. The more he chuckled, the more my nerves pulled. The silence soon became unbearable.

"God damn it Two-Bit." I snapped, finally irritated to this point. "What the hell are you laughing at?"

This just set Two-Bit in a fresh peal of laughter. After a few minutes of me glaring at him, he settled into a weak chuckle, before falling on the couch next to me. "Kid, you've got Darry's glare down so well, I swear that you could be him."

I sighed, running my hands through my hair. "What's so funny Two-Bit?"

"How long have you been seeing her kid?" Two-Bit said with a large grin.

"Don't call me kid." I snapped, before processing his words. My stomach suck and I turned my head and slowly looked at him. His wide grin gave me little room to play it stupid. "I don't know what you mean…"

"Bullshit." Two-Bit said, poker faced. "You are hung up on some girl. I can tell by the look on your face. It's the same face that your brother gets when he's thinking about that girlfriend of his."

"Darry?" I asked in surprise. "How serious are they?" I asked.

"Pretty serious. Darry has wanted to tell you about her for awhile, but you were gone for most of spring break, and I guess it never really came up."

"The hell with that!" I scoffed. "I talk to them once a week."

"Darry is the last guy that is going to be bragging over the phone about his girlfriend." Two-Bit said with a knowing smile. "And he forced Soda to shut up about it. Though I have no damn idea how he shut Steve up."

"I don't talk to Steve. And it's you I'm surprised didn't say anything." I said ignoring Two-Bit's frown. "How long have they been going out?"

"About 6 months." Two-Bit said. "There pretty serious. Not like marriage serious, but like, she might move in with him serious."

I raised my eyebrows. "Wow."

"Now how long have you and you girlfriend been going out?" Two-Bit asked, whipping out of my thoughts.

I shrugged. "She's not really my girlfriend. Just a girl that I've been seeing for a couple of weeks. Nothing serious."

"Uh huh." Two-Bit said with a laugh. "That's the same exact thing that your brother said. What's her name?"

I studied Two-Bit for a moment, before shrugging and offering up her name. "Anna Wicker."

"I knew it!" Two-Bit said with a smirk and a fist pump.

"You knew her name was Anna Wicker?" I asked in confusion.

"No, I knew that you were seeing someone. You had it written all over your face my friend."

"Look Two-Bit." I said, glancing around. "I really would like you to keep this quiet. Just until I can tell Darry and Soda."

"You haven't told them yet?" He asked, stopping his spastic dance.

"Well…" I said, trailing off. "Not yet. I just haven't gotten around to it yet. Just like Darry hasn't really gotten around to talking to me about this girl he's been seeing." I told Two-Bit's wary face.

"Touché."

"Besides," I told Two-Bit. "We've only been 'seeing each other' for a month. I've got plenty of time to tell them."

"Alright." Two-Bit said, turning on the TV, searching for Mickey Mouse. "Just tell them sooner, rather than later. I don't want to be here if they find out some other way."

"I will. I just need to talk to her first."

"You can bring her to that barbeque thing in a couple of weeks." Two-Bit said, standing up to put his beer bottle in the trashcan.

"What barbeque thing?" I asked, looking up at him.

"Darry wants to celebrate your kick ass grades, your birthday, and have an opportunity for you to meet his lady. So after you come back from that kid's house, were going to throw a party." Two-Bit thought about it for a few moments. "We might be throwing in Forth of July in there to."

"Two-Bit, my birthday is tomorrow." I reminded him.

"I know." He said defensively. "But that kid is coming here in a few days, then you're going to his house. Not to mention that your brothers are working all of the time. So there just doing a big party after you come back. Bring your girlfriend then."

"That kids name is Paul." I sighed, exasperated. "Glory, Two-Bit. You don't remember nothin."

"I remember what I have to." Two-Bit said, throwing a genuine smile at me. And I returned it in thanks.

* * *

><p>"Anna," I whispered on the phone. "Can you hear me?"<p>

"Yeah. I think so. Why are we whispering?" she stage whispered back.

"I'm not supposed to be on the phone right now. My brother's don't want me to have contact with the outside world while I'm home." I whispered, pushing my face as close as possible to the phone.

"How is it?"

"It's real nice." I said, looking down the hallway. "I forgot how much I missed them. It's nice to be home."

"How late did you get in last night?" Anna asked her voice curious.

"Around four last night." I laughed. "I about fell asleep on the road."

"Ponyboy!" she scolded. "You should have! You could have gotten really hurt!"

I smiled into the phone, somehow pleased at her concern. "I'm fine. Soda stayed at the house last night, so I had to sleep on the couch. But they freaked out on me this morning."

"They missed you!" Anna said with a pleased laugh.

"I know. I missed them too. It's just weird being back here. Not in a bad way or anything…" I trailed off, trying to put my thoughts into words.

"Just different. You're used to being in Oklahoma City. It will be back to normal in a couple of days."

"Right." I agreed. "Well at least until I go back to Ok City. I'm going to stay with Paul for a couple of days next week."

"Really?" she asked, her voice perking up. I heard a struggle, and Anna arguing with Ellie in the background. "Ponyboy." Anna asked, sounding exasperated. "Would you mind talking to Ellie really quick? She needs to go to bed, but she wants to say good night."

A wide smile spread across my face. "Sure. Put her on."

I listened to Anna talk to Ellie for a few more moments, before the phone was placed into her clumsy hands. "Hewwo?" a high, adorable voice asked me.

"Hey Ellie." I whispered into the phone. "Are you getting ready go to sleep?"

"Uh huh!" Ellie said, agreeing with me. "I already bwrushed my teeth and put on my Pj's."

"Did mommy help you with that?" I asked, smiling.

"Yeah. She hewps me when I put my clothes on. When are you going to come see me?"

I laughed as I listened to Anna scolding. "I'm not sure yet. I'm out of town seeing my brothers. But I really do miss you!"

"Me too!" Ellie agreed. Before she could say anything else, Anna snatched the phone away.

"Thank you Ellie." Anna said. "I've got to put her to bed. Thank you for calling me though. I was starting to wonder if you got home alright."

"I'm fine. The drive really wasn't that bad." I assured her, blanching when I saw Darry walk into the hallway.

"I want you to call me tomorrow, alright? Call me about 8:30. Ellie will already be asleep by then, and we can talk on the phone."

"Alright." I said shakily, looking at my brother's angry face. Oops. "I've got to go too. My brother caught me."

"Yikes." Anna whispered with a chuckle. "I'll talk to you tomorrow ok? Sweet dreams."

"Sweet dreams." I whispered back. After I hung up the phone, I looked at Darry and asked the only thing I could think of that would get this off of his mind. "So the bosses daughter, eh Darry?"

**Ok, who thinks I should cut it out with the baby talk? I know it's a little annoying, but all of the 4 year olds I know talk with that lisp voice. I'm not sure how to really have her talk, because she's kind of a key player in this whole thing. Any suggestions are amazing. **

**Who likes Two-Bit? I loved Two-Bit, but for some reason, I found it hard to write him. This chapter seemed kind of hard to write, so forgive me if it sounds a bit funny. I'm trying to put other things in this story other that Anna, and I'm finding it a tad bit difficult. Again, if you have any opinions, they are really helpful. **

**Ponyboy's birthday is coming up! What do you think should happen? Anything big, or should we just wait until the barbeque? Thank you all for your amazing support and reviews. I know this story needs a lot of work, so I appreciate all of your constructive criticism! **


	9. Chapter 9

**Ok, so I figure if I make the chapters longer, than it won't be so bad that I'm only updating once a week. I'm really trying hard to write this, but as I've said before, I've got a wicked case of writers block. I know what I want the ending to be like, and a couple of more bumps along the way, but this intermission part is really hard to write. So if it seems a little lame, forgive me. And ideas are amazing. I love things that can jog my imagination! **

**Thank you all for the reviews. I'm trying harder now to make this story detailed and worth reading. I don't want this to be some cheesy story that you read and after awhile you only keep reading because you feel obligated. I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE the reviews that you guys send me, and every time I see another has been posted, I make myself go write for a bit. They really are a great motivation. **

When I opened my eyes, I was momentarily confused. Reminding myself of coming home, I detangled myself from Soda's sprawled limbs and slowly sat up. Rubbing my eyes, I looked at the small clock on our bedside table that read 4:30 AM. I threw myself back on the bed in some kind of rebellion, trying to go back to sleep, but after fifteen minutes of tossing and turning in my bed, I gave up in a huff.

Standing up slowly to stretch my muscles, I padded across the room and opened my closet. I carefully picked up my old boxes, trying not to wake Soda, and pulled them into the living room with me. Setting them all down, I quickly walked into the kitchen and grabbed a beer. Happy birthday to me.

Sitting down in the middle of the floor, I slowly pulled out some childhood memories. I picked up an old beat up spiral, flipping through it to see some of my old drawings. I studied the pictures, scratching the stubble on my face in concentration. Not bad for a kid, if I say so myself.

After rummaging through some more papers and old toys, my hands blindly wrapped around a book. Immediately knowing which book it was, I slowly pulled out Johnny's old "Gone with the Wind" novel. Slowly flipping though the pages, I could still smell the scent of hospitals and cigarettes.

After reading Johnny's note, I stood up slowly and changed into jeans and a white T-shirt and headed back into the room. I snuck over by Soda, gently shaking him awake.

"Soda." I whispered. A loud groan and a frown was the only response I got. "Sodapop, wake up really quick. I need to tell you something."

Soda looked at me blearily after he opened his eyes. "Pony?" he muttered groggily. "What's the matter?"

"I'm going to go for a walk really quick, and I just don't want you or Darry to worry."

Soda rubbed his eyes and looked over at the clock. "Pony its 5 in the morning. It's still dark outside."

"The sun will rise in a minute." I assured him, pressing him back down against the mattress. "Now go back to sleep. I'll be home before you even wake up."

"Why…why are you going for a walk at 5 in the morning?" Soda asked.

"I just want to go for a run really fast." I lied, thankful for Soda's ability to fall asleep at the drop of a hat.

Soda just nodded, already falling back asleep. "Be… be careful Pony. Carry a blade with you just in case."

I lightly touched the blade in my back pocket. "I know Soda, I'll be back later. Don't forget to tell Darry." I whispered, bringing the covers back over his shoulders as I stared fondly at my brother. "Sleep well."

And I left.

* * *

><p>By the time I got to the graveyard, the sun was starting to rise. I walked along the sidewalk and opened the gate, listening to the creek of metal in protest. Taking the book in my hand, I started walking to Johnny's grave for the first time in five years. Taking my time, I swiped a yellow flower off of one of the bushes. Johnny would have liked it anyways.<p>

I looked at the cold marble headstone that sat on top of Johnny's buried body. I ran my hand across it, feeling the dew cling to my fingers. I took a deep breath and whispered, "Hey Johnny."

After a few moments of silence, I squatted down to where my face nears the tombstone. "I know it's been awhile since I've come to see you. School and all, I've been real busy." I said lamely, glancing down at my twisted hands. "I know heaven must be pretty fun and all…"

Taking another deep breath, I pulled out a box of cigarettes and a lighter. "I've been trying to quit for awhile now, but it's really hard. I've cut down to a pack a week though." I said with a guilty smile.

I quickly lit two cigarettes, putting one in my mouth, and the other I balanced on Johnny's tombstone. "So I've been seeing this girl." I told Johnny. "She's real pretty, and sweet as sugar. Always happy and I love bein' around her." I could picture Johnny nodding, his hands stuck deep in his pockets while he looked at me in interest.

"Well she has a kid, you see. I really like the little girl. She's just as sweet as her momma. But I think I'm getting too involved with them. I mean, I'm thinking about her all of the time, and I can't ever get her out of my head. I'm calling her at night, checking in with her all of the time."

Johnny would be smiling right now, a teasing grin spread across his face. "But I haven't said anything to Darry or Soda yet."

Johnny's face would have paled, and looked at me in shock. "I know, I know. I was going to tell them yesterday. I haven't been seeing her that long, only a month or so. And I need to ask her if were, you know, together." I said putting emphasis around together.

I simply sat there, enjoying the silence. One of my favorite things about Johnny when he was alive was the fact that we could sit there for half an hour without having to say anything, and I wouldn't feel uncomfortable at all. It was easy.

"What do you think I should do?" I asked the cold tombstone after sitting there for a little while. I listened to the sound of the wind blowing cool air through the trees and I smiled down at Johnny. "Yeah, I don't know either." I sighed, putting out our cigarettes and sigh. "But thanks anyways for listening Johnny." I told him, my throat suddenly swelling up. "I miss you, man."

Standing up I felt a sudden gust of wind hit my face. It was a clean, cooling breeze and even if it didn't come from Johnny, I smile back at him anyways. "I'll come see you again sometime soon, ok? Say hi to my parents and Dallas for me." I said, putting both my hands deep in my pockets. I walked out of the graveyard leaving part of my family behind, heading home where the rest of them were.

* * *

><p>I was walking home, watching the sun rise, when a nicer car pulled up next to me. Breaking out in a sweat, I pulled the switchblade out of my back pocket, but kept it hidden behind my back.<p>

"Put that damn blade away. What the hell are you doing, walking around at 7 in the morning?" a deep, familiar voice

"Steve." I said in shock, quickly closing my knife. "Your home already?"

"Yeah well, business doesn't really suit me. But Soda would have ended up making us look stupid, so I had to."

"And you still didn't look stupid?" I asked in play shock, running my hand through my hair.

"Shut up." Steve said with a smirk. "And get in the damn car."

I jumped in, and buckled my seat belt. Running my hands over the interior, I looked at Steve in shock. "How could you afford this?"

Steve shrugged, not taking his eyes off of the road. "Business has been going real well. Were having a little trouble figuring out all of the numbers, but Soda said that you would help out." I nodded, allowing a small smile to spread across my face. "What the hell were you doing out here anyways?"

"Wanted to go for a run."

Steve looked at me skeptically. But for once in his life, he didn't call me out on my bull shit. "Boy howdy." Steve said after a few minutes. "You sure have grown. How tall are you now?"

"About 6"2." I said proudly. I had really shot up in the past couple of years, passing both Darry and Soda. Well only by a couple of inches, but that's not what matters.

Steve whistled. "You sure did get all of the height."

I shrugged, looking out the window. "Soda got the looks, Darry's got the muscles, and I got the height."

"You sure didn't get the muscles like Superman has." Steve said with a laugh, gesturing to my lanky figure.

I sighed dejectedly. "I used to go to the weight room every day after I first got the scholarship. But I never gained any muscle."

"Runner's are pretty lean." Steve agreed. As we pulled up to the house, I looked over at Steve in curiosity.

"You commin in?"

Steve looked at the house in apprehension. "I don't think so. I need to get home and unpack."

"You know Soda aint mad at you, right?"

Steve stared at me defensively. "I know that. I just…."

"Come on in Steve. Darry might be making me a cake for my birthday." I said, getting out of the car.

"It's your birthday?" Steve asked. I nodded. "Oh, well then I guess I can come in for a couple of minutes."

I rolled my eyes and walked into the house to see Darry and Soda already awake. Darry looked at me in shock. "Where have you been? I thought you were still in bed."

"I went for a run this morning. Told Soda." I said looking at my brother's with a smile. Darry looked over and glared at my brother. Trying to brush the attention off of his mistake, he stood up and started to talk to Steve. Soda's real good about not letting things bother him.

Something suddenly tackled me to the ground. After seeing his shirt and smelling the food on him, I knew it was Two-Bit. "Two-Bit, get the hell off of me!" I laughed, rolling around on the floor into the living room.

"Two-Bit you better not mess him up on his birthday." Soda teased, getting a laugh out of Darry and Steve. Using my height to my advantage, I was able to pin him down after a couple of more rolls around. Two-Bit looked at me in complete shock.

"You just pinned me. Dammit, the kid's finally gotten the best of me. I was hoping the day would never come."

Darry scoffed. "It don't help that your 5"6 and you haven't been to the gym in years."

Two-Bit scooted himself until he was propped up against the couch. "Yeah, whatever."

Darry rolled his eyes at Two-Bit's antics, and grinned real big at me. "Happy Birthday man."

I smiled at Darry, letting my cheeks redden. "Thanks man. What time are ya'll going to work today?"

Darry frowned at the reminder. "In an hour or so. Soda's got to take all of his crap back over at his place now that Steve's back."

"Didn't like staying by yourself, huh Soda?" I teased my brother, getting a playful punch to the arm in return.

"Oh shut up." Soda said with an easy smile. His face soon clouded over as he said, "I sure do hate you staying here with Two-Bit all day by yourselves."

"Aw don't worry about it. Paul should be here later today, and I'd hate for him to walk in with no one here. We might even stop by the shop in a couple of hours."

"If we can get past that prick of an assistant you've got." Two-Bit called from the living room.

Soda sighed, pulling out a big chocolate cake from the fridge. "We just hired him last Tuesday. I'm not sure what to think about him, but he sure does do his job real good. He never goofs off like all the other guys, and I think he really needs the job."

"That Soc kid?" Two-Bit said, walking into the kitchen, his eye brows raised high up. "What the hell does he need money for? I've never heard of a Soc needing money."

"He ain't a Soc." Steve said, pulling out a gallon of milk. "I'm pretty sure he's middle class. He just really needs the job is all. I was the one who hired him, so you can go to hell."

Two-Bit sighed, placing his hand over his heart. "I knew something was missing while you were gone. I wasn't sure if it was just the general dislike for everything in the whole world, but I've finally figured it out. Even smart asses grow on people."

"Damn straight." Steve said.

I laughed at their antics. "That's for the cake guys." I said beaming at my brothers.

Soda shook his head at me, cutting me a huge slice. "I've been begging Darry to let me put green dye in it for the past week, but he keeps telling me no."

Darry looked up from the paper in amusement. "It would look like it was spoiled. No one in there right minds would eat a cake that was green. And I'm hungry."

We spent most of the morning talking, enjoying the playful banter and the overall easygoing nature of the whole day. After an embarrassing 'Happy Birthday' song from Two-Bit and Soda, Soda grabbed all of his stuff and left with Steve. Fifteen minutes after they left, Darry sighed deeply before standing up to go to work.

"I feel really bad about leaving you here buddy." He said after looking at me for a few minutes.

"Darry, I've stayed here 100 times by myself. I'll be fine. I mean it. Just go to work and we can go see a movie or something tonight if it makes you feel better."

"It's your birthday though. Maybe I should stay home today. I could call in sick, and it wouldn't be a big deal at all…"

"Darry, go to work. I mean it. And go tell that girlfriend of yours that I want to meet her soon!" I laughed. Darry's face reddened, but a small smile graced his face.

"You want to meet her?"

I rolled my eyes. "Bring her tonight. And make sure she's coming to that barbeque thing. Now go to work, and don't let the boss catch you." I teased. Darry scowled at me, before giving me a quick hug and left where Soda and Steve had. "Darry is so into that girl."

"I know another Curtis brother that has a bit of a crush on a girl." Two-Bit said with a roughish grin. Ignoring him, I grabbed another slice of chocolate cake and made myself comfortable to watch Mickey Mouse with Two-Bit. We spent most of the day in the house, waiting for Paul to get there.

"I keep… forgetting how…. freaking hot it gets… around here." I panted, lying flat on the floor.

"I never do." Two-Bit said, chugging another cold beer. "Always is hot in your house."

A loud horn shook my out of my stupor, and I stood up to see Paul's car swing in front of our house. "Paul's here." Two-Bit and I strolled outside to see Paul jump out of his car. Leaning up agianst his very expensive car, he held his hands up to the house.

"Damn it's good to be here. Why are you guys all sweaty?" He asked, looking at my sweat stained shirt with distaste.

I scowled at my friend as he gingerly gave me a quick bear hug. "Not every one in the whole world can afford a car cooler. " I said pointing to the large cylinder like object perched on his car. "It's hot as hell just about every where else."

"Yeah, well there's perks to everything." Paul said with a chuckle. Now, let's go around town. I can't tell you how much I've missed this place. Especially after being home for half a week." He said with a shudder.

I glanced over at Two-Bit, who had walked over to Paul's car and was closely examining the hubcaps. "Two-Bit if you steal those hubcaps, I'm going to hurt you." I said with a laugh. "Why don't we take the car over to Soda's shop real quick and drop it of there. Were all going to a movie later for my birthday."

"Your birthday?" Paul said in fake surprise. "That's today? Good thing I got your present early. But I'll show it to you later. Could you help me throw my bags in the house?"

Two-Bit, Paul, and I spent fifteen minutes unloading his car. "Damn Paul, you pack like you're a girl." I said with a groan.

"You never know what you're going to need. Plus I love the feeling of being able to take everything away from the house. Are we going now, or what?"

We all jumped in Paul's car. "Let me tell you something about Greasers." Two-Bit said to Paul. "We pretend like we hate this stuff, but I don't know one of 'em that would jump you while you were driving to get this baby."

"That's reassuring." Paul said, keeping his eyes on the road.

"Shut up, Two-Bit." I said, turning on the radio and let the steady tune of the Beach Boy's lull me into some odd for of tranquility.

**Ok, it ended kind of abruptly. I just didn't want to put TOO much in this chapter. Hey good news you guys! I got a Beta Reader! I know some of you are literally jumping for joy. It was actually one of my very faithful reviewers, Greaser4life. She's going to help me repost this story, giving it a well needed polish. **

**Is there anything you wanted in here that I didn't do? Anything I put in here that you didn't like? Please review and tell me. I'm trying to improve my writing in anyway I can. I'm heading up to Oklahoma for a couple of days next week, so I might not be able to post anything until Thursday or Friday. But I will work on the story while I'm gone! I'll be able to get your reviews, so if you want something written in, you can tell me at anytime before than! Thank you so much for your help, and I hope you all have a great weekend!**


	10. Chapter 10

**_(Hearing struggling backstage. Whispers, 'Just go!' before a tall girl is shoved on stage.) Hey you... wonderful readers you! I... don't really get to tell you how much I appreciate you guys, do I? Ok, fine, fine... I am SO SORRY! I haven't updated in forever and I know it. But a couple of you reviewed recently and it reminded me that I was letting my readers down. Here it is! Its pretty long, but I wanted to get it out to you so you wouldn't kill me. I like my face the way it is._**

**_Please review! Tell me you don't like the chapter, or better yet, tell me you do! The reviews really do keep me going. You are all so amazing! HERE IT IS!_**

"Baby…Ooooooh baby….My sweet baby…you're the one!" Two-Bit singing along to the juke box.

"How you're able to be this stupid when you haven't had a lick of alcohol since yesterday is beyond me." Soda quipped, his hands deep in his pockets.

Two-Bit continued racking the balls, ignoring Soda's jib. "Hey Pony, you want to play me this time?"

"Aw Two-Bit, I hate playing games with you." I groaned over my beer I stole from Soda. "All you do is cheat."

Two-Bit looked at me in play shock. "I do not cheat! I could never do that! It's against what I believe in! What I stand for! It goes against my honor, my dignity, my-"

"Will you shut it Two-Bit?" Darry snapped.

I glanced at Paul, who stood up from the bar stool and walked over to the pool table. "I'll play you."

"Oh, Paul you dog." Two-Bit said with a wolfish grin on his face. "I knew there was something about you I liked. From the very beginning. I told Steve over here, I says to him, Steve I say, I like this guy."

Steve glares up at Two-Bit, causing Paul and me to chuckle. "Play the damn game and shut up, will yah?" Steve snapped. Laughing, I turn back and look at Darry. "So when am I meeting this girl of yours?"

Darry's smiles, and a slight blush touching his cheeks. "Well she's at her parent's house for a couple of days, but she's going to come eat dinner with us."

"Does daddy know about this relationship yet?" I ask quietly, with a sneaky smile on my face.

Darry playfully glares, before shaking his head. "Not yet. Lisa wants to wait a bit. But I really just want to get it over with. I see no reason to keep a relationship in the dark, you dig?" I nodded, my stomach twisting in knots. Damn you, Darry.

"But she's going to come to dinner this Friday, and both you and Soda are gonna meet her." He said over the sound of pool balls and the jukebox.

I blanched. "Darry, that's the day were going back to Paul's house." Darry's pales, as his face twisted into an upset grimace.

"Aw don't worry Darry." Paul called from the pool table behind us. "We can just leave after the dinner. I don't have to be at that damn meeting till the next morning anyways."

Darry slowly nodded, his face relaxing. "Thanks man. I want them both to be there."

Soda comes up from behind Darry at the small table were sitting at, bringing another two beers. "Don't worry Darry. Were gonna be there all nice and pretty. I'll even take a shower."

"You better." Darry mumbled, grabbing one of the beers in Soda's hand.

"Is she a Soc's or something?" I ask Darry. Not that a Greaser girl would want a bunch of smelly guys for a dinner party.

"She aint a Soc. She's middle class."

"Yeah right!" Steve slurs. "She's as much of a Soc as that red head broad that Pony used to be in love with." Darry and I both glared at Steve, and he guffawed.

"Cherry didn't always act like a Soc." I said defensively, still feeling a soft spot for the red head.

"And neither does Lisa. So shut the hell up Steve." Darry said with a glare.

"Action's do nothin." Steve said. I watched as Soda went over to Steve and took the large bottle or rum out of his hands. "They have that shitty little phrase about how your actions define you. But it don't matter. It's all about the money. Their all rollin' in it. We might as well admit to it. A Soc walks into a store, and the people look at them in some kinda reverence. Like their all gonna win us another football game or some other shit. Just by walking in the freaking door. But not a Greaser. When a greaser walks in, people hold their purses tighter or close the cash register."

I shrug, uncomfortable with the bitterness in his voice. "You and Soda are doing real good with that shop of yalls. Become decent members of society and all. People are startin to warm."

Steve laughed, running both hands through his hair and over his face. "Oh hell kid. That aint ever gonna happen. We both know it."

I shifted my weight to my other foot, unsure what to do or say. Glancing at Soda, I realized that this might not be out of the norm. Shrugging it off, I finish off the beer and walk over to him. "So Soda, what about these numbers?"

Soda perked up, before he went over and grabbed his jacket. He scrambled around for a few minutes, trying to find something. He soon pulled out a napkin filled with numbers on it. "I have no idea whether were sinking, or swimming."

"That's a comforting thought." Steve said, his head in his hands.

"Why the hell do you have your numbers in your jacket?" Darry asked. "I don't know much about running a business, but I'm pretty damn sure that you aint supposed to do that.

Soda looked over at him, confusion spilling over his handsome features. "I always keep my numbers on me. That way I don't forget them. I keep copies of stuff at the store, but this way I can do my work when I have to."

We all stared at my brother. I sighed, before snatching the napkin out of his hands. "Give it to me." I said, feeling stupid.

I spent the next half hour pouring over the numbers, searching idly for their organization system. After finally figuring out what all of the random numbers meant, I called my brother over. "Soda, come here real quick." Soda sauntered over, his face still alit in a grin from his laugh.

"So, we dying?"

I shrug, handing the napkin back over. "I need to see some of the original copies of things before I can give you an accurate guess, but it looks like your going to make it." We talked about holes in his business plan, and I looked up at my family, talking and laughing. There was a couple of other that could fit in real nice. "So you just need to place all of these numbers in individual columns, then you can see where most of your spending is."

I saw Soda's confused space clear when I went over the final frame of his numbers. "Geez, that's a lot simpler than when me and Steve tried going over that shit." He said, gesturing to his best friend, was now glaring at group of Soc's who had walked into the bar. "Thanks a lot Pony."

"No problem." I said, gracing my older brother with an identical smile before standing up to go play pool with Paul. But I stopped abruptly when I felt a flash of cold hit my face. Whipping around to see the culprit, I find Steve sitting at a bar stool, throwing pieces of ice. I open my mouth to snap at him, when I realize that he wasn't trying to throw it at me. He's trying to throw it at the group of Soc's that were standing behind me.

Before I can rush over to him, or even yell at him to stop, one of the larger Soc's stood up angrily from his seat, glaring at Steve. "What the hell is your problem Greaser?"

The entire atmosphere of the bar room changed with that single sentence. Darry and Soda got up from their chairs, and Paul and Two-Bit stopped playing pool.

"Sorry man. He's drunk. Don't mind him." I offered up.

Some of the fire in the Soc's eyes dimmed, until Steve called out at the retreating figures. "That's right. Go home to your momma. She can buy you a new car to make you feel better."

"Bet you don't even have a momma greaser." The Soc sneered. "Did she run out on you? Get pregnant by some hood?"

Steve growled, jumping to his feet. "Like you can talk. Just because you rich kids can sweep it under the rug, doesn't mean shit don't happen. But now your out of your house, I guess it don't matter none. Not that your parents bought all of your grades."

The Soc's face reddened, before slamming his fists down on the table. "You want to take this outside?" One of them growled.

"If you are." Steve said, clarity spilling into his voice, as the fire in his eyes burned bright.

Steve was out the door, right behind the Soc's before any of us had a chance to cool things down. "Damn you Steve." Darry hissed as he jogged out to find him.

"Who's gonna pay for all of this?" The bartender griped, glaring over at the group of guys that had run out. Sighing, I pulled out some money and slammed it on the table before running back outside. The group of Soc's were stalking off, many arguing amongst themselves. The gang looked at me for a few more moments, before turning around and yelling at Steve.

"What the hell was that?" Soda asked, helping his best friend off of the ground.

"Steve, don't ever do something that stupid again when I'm obligated to join in." Darry quipped, rubbing his knuckles.

Steve glared up at me in his haze, before closing them. "Aw hell, Steve, don't get all pissy at me." I told the moody greaser whose face was swelling."I wasn't the one who started it with them."

"Pony's turning Soc on us." Steve snapped. Though the insult was short lived, because he slipped on something, making him stumble to the ground.

"That's real rich coming from the guy who was just bitchin about wanting be one himself." I grumbled, helping Soda drag him to the car.

"Didn't say I want to be a Soc. But you don't have to go babying me. I can deal… don't have to go help me." Steve mumbled, the tips of his shoes dragging on the concrete.

"You bring it on yourself buddy." Soda wheezed as we hauled his friend into the back of the truck. After closing the gate, I laughed at Paul's overall demeanor. He had a small frown, but exhilarated look on his face.

"Aw hell," Darry growled. "What a way for the night to end. Sorry Pone."

I shrugged. "No biggie Dar. I had fun anyways."

"Does anyone know who any of those Soc's are?" Two-Bit asked, looking around at us.

"I think the tall one was in my Algebra class." Darry said, jumping into the car. "And quit callin' 'em Soc's."

"Why not?" Two-Bit mumbled. "That's what they are. Not to mention they've been callin' us greaser all night."

"Cause the last thing we need is to start up that crap again. Just leave 'em be. Curly just got slammed back in for jumping one."

"It aint that big of a deal." Two-Bit scoffed.

Darry glared at the dash, while Soda shrugged. "I don't care. I never cared much either way."

"What about you Pony?" Two-Bit asked, wagging his eyebrows playfully at me. "Soc lover you are.

"Oh shut up." I snapped, even as I felt guilty doing so. "I aint no Soc lover, but I'm not some stupid Grease who has to start a fight with everyone who stands still long enough to be in one. I aint got no problems with the Soc's. Last time I had big Soc problems, two of my friends died." I finished, crossing my arms, glaring out of the window. The silence was deafening.

"We ain't sayin it's a bad thing." Two-Bit ventured after a pregnant pause. "You and Darry are both like that. You'd probably both be Soc's if it weren't for us."

I remember him saying that about Darry after I had gotten back from Windrexville. I wondered what had put me into that category. Maybe going to collage, getting away from everything. But the thought made me uncomfortable. I didn't want to change.

The tension grew until it was so thick, I could cut it with a knife. "What day are you going to do that barbeque thing, Darry?" Soda asked, after failing to catch my eye.

"I thought we might do it on the Fourth of July. Just throw it all in there, since Pone's not big on the whole party thing in the first place. Just have a good barbeque thing. Yall can invite anyone you want." Darry said, his eyes still trained on the road.

I took a deep breath, and pressed my face up against the cool glass of the car, bringing me back from my fevered state of memories.

XXX

"Damn it Soda." I whimpered, hobbling over to the couch. I looked down at my foot with queasiness. A toothpick that my brother had left on the floor was now jammed deep into my foot. I knew that it was my own fault for trying to clean everywhere so quickly. My haste to have everything ready for the dinner tonight was more for Darry's benefit that of my own.

But I cleaned, knowing that if it was Anna here, I would have been as frantic as Darry was when he called me during work. So I cleaned. And stabbed myself. I limped into the kitchen to where Soda was cooking, shooting him the death glare. "Who's the one who keeps leaving the toothpicks lying around the house?"

Soda looked over at me guiltily. "Um…. I'm not sure."

"Yeah, right."

Soda paled as he looked down at my foot. "Jesus Pony. Lemme get some pliers."

I sat in my chair, glancing around the kitchen, when a small wave of home-sickness hit me. I'm gonna miss being here, even if I'm only gone for a couple of weeks. I liked having Darry around, looking out for me. I missed Soda playful fights, and Two-Bits idiotic comments. Hell, I even missed Steve's smart ass comments. But as I sat thinking about it, a bigger wave hit me. I missed Anna. And Ellie.

"Here we go, just you hold still for one second." Soda said, trying to smile, as his face paled to a sickly white.

I stared at him in amusement. "Soda, I can do it."

"No, it's fine. I'm not afraid of blood or anything." He said defensively. "I just… are you ok? This is really deep."

"I know." I said, rolling my eyes. "I felt it go into my foot."

Soda nodded seriously, before carefully wrapping pliers around the toothpick. "Ok, I'm gonna do this fast…"

I rolled my eyes. "Soda, chill out. And you gotta do it slow, or I'll get splinters."

This seemed to put Soda more on edge, before he slowly pulled out the toothpick. I winced, but relaxed once it was out. Blood pooled on the bottom of my foot, but I paid little attention to it. "What are you making for dinner?"

"Oh." Soda said, raising his eyes from my foot. "Um, I'm making roast."

I sighed deeply. "Soda…"

"I didn't do anything to it!" Soda said with a defensive tone. "I promised Darry… But I did make the mashed potatoes blue."

"Sodapop!"

Soda grinned at me impishly, before putting the roast back in the oven. "Can you set out the plates and stuff while I jump in the shower?"

I nod, hobbling to the pantry to grab the plates. Thinking about Anna shook me up a bit. Seeing her again so soon came quicker than I expected. Not that I don't want to see her, I mean, I really want to see her. It's just that, how are things between us? Are we a thing? Are we even dating? Or are we still at that awkward friend stage. A groan slipped through my lips as I set down the last of the silverware. Women… they'll make us Curtis boys go crazy.

When Darry and Lisa arrived at the house, it was as clean as Social Service check up days. I even sprayed the room with some nice smelling stuff I found under the counter. I don't know what it was, but it smelled good. Both Soda and I were cleaned up, and the dinner finally came out of the oven. Darry gave me a grateful look as he glanced around the room.

"Lisa, this is my brother Sodapop. You might have seen him before, hanging out around town before." Darry introduced.  
>Lisa smiled. She had a real good smile, genuine. I think even then I knew I would like her. "Sure, I remember you. You fixed my sisters car last month."<p>

Soda gave an angelic smile, shrugging his shoulders in modesty. Only Darry and I got that he was putting on a show. While I held back a chuckle, Darry sighed.

"And this is my youngest brother, Ponyboy." Darry said, gesturing towards me. "He's leaving tonight after dinner, to go back to Oklahoma City for the week."  
>Lisa's smile turned to me, making me feel real liked. "Ponyboy. I've heard all about you. I'm so glad to finally meet you." She said, taking my outstretched hand, shaking it.<p>

We chatted for a few minutes, before finally shuffling our way into the kitchen. We sat down around the table, talking and eating. I was really enjoying myself. I liked Lisa. She was funny, really smart, and she didn't deal with any of Darry's bull.

"Lisa, do you need any help there?" Darry asked with a playful smile, gesturing to a coke bottle that Lisa was trying to open. Something uncommon on his serious face.

She huffed, glaring at him. "I can take perfectly good care of myself Darryl."

"I'm just trying to help you."

"Thanks. But like I said, I can take perfectly good care of myself."

Seeing the look of amusement stay on his face, I decided that this might not be an all together uncommon thing. But to my dismay, Lisa changed the subject from her, to me.

"So Ponyboy, how did you like collage?"

I shrugged, uncomfortable with all the attention suddenly on me. "Fine. I like it just fine."

"I liked collage well enough." Lisa said, staring off into space momentarily. "It was a lot of hard work though. But Darry told me that you got honors again this year." I nod, my cheeks heating up. The conversation was pulled off of me for a bit, us talking about Soda and Darry. About their jobs, and what they were planning to do. "What do you want to do Pony?" Lisa asked.

"I'm majoring in English." I said with a small smile. "I plan to get a job as a journalist of some kind after school."

"That sure does sound interesting. I wish I majored in something like that. Or maybe got a minor in something else. I just majored in business." Lisa said distainfully.

"Maybe you can help Soda figure out how to run one." I said teasingly.

"Yeah well, I didn't finish high school." Soda said defensively. "I just don't understand all of those numbers. I always sucked at math."

"You could always go back."

Soda laughed. "They wouldn't let me back in. They things I did at that place, and the things I did with people at that place-"

Darry glared at Soda. "Can it Sodapop."

Soda smiled, before taking a deep scoop of his mash potatoes and slapping them on his plate. "I'm just teasing Darry." Lisa laughed at the two of them. The conversation flowed easily and freely. Soon, I was able to loosen up, and have a good time with the rest of them. Until she hit me with a big one.

"Yes I did meet Two-Bit. And Paul." She laughed. "I saw them at the Piggly Wiggly earlier today. When I went to the store to pick up the cake." She said, gesturing to the crumbs on the plate.

I looked up in interest, curious. "We were talking, a bit about you, a bit about Paul staying here with all of you. Told me about your girlfriend Pony." She said offhandedly, before grabbing another slice of bread. "It was pretty brief, but I like both of them. They seem like nice guys."

"What girlfriend is Paul talking about Pony?" Soda asked, solidifying the ice that had shot through my heart at her words.

"Um… I wouldn't consider her my girlfriend…" I rasped, my mouth suddenly becoming very dry.

"When did you even meet her?" Darry asked, his face a little hurt, and a little angry. Shit.

"I… I don't know… maybe a little over a month."

"A month?" Soda asked. The expression on his face made me feel that much more guilty. "You've been here for days! Why didn't you tell us? What's her name?"

I sighed, looking uncomfortably around at my brothers. Darry and Soda's faces were fixed in an angry, upset, curious look.

"Look guys, it's really not a big deal." I said, running my hand through my hair. "She's not my girlfriend. Not really." I blanched at the shocked look on my brother's faces. "Not that way either! Jesus…"

My poor explanation was thankfully interrupted by someone opening the door. Paul came through the door, an angry look on his face. "Hey Pony, we gotta go."

"Why the hell did you tell everyone about Anna?"

Paul paled, but continued on. "I'll explain in the car, but if you coming with me, we gotta go. My dad's flipping shit back at the house, and hell's gonna break loose if I'm not back home soon."

I sighed deeply, looking around the table. I slowly stood, forcing a smile at the shocked faces of my brothers. "I'll see you guys in a week, ok?"

"Pony," my brothers started, standing up from their chairs. I ignored them both and walked into the back room to grab my bags. Stepping into the dimly lit room, I breathed deeply. Only this kind of crap happens to me. I grabbed my bags and stepped into the hallway just as Sodapop and Darry came down the hall, running into me.

"Hey kiddo." Darry said with a frown on his face. "I don't want you leaving just cause your upset. Especially not now."

"I aint leaving cause of that." I said, adjusting my hands around my bags. "This just seems like a really good opportunity. I'm real sorry about your dinner. I'll be back in a week and we'll all hang out at your barbeque thing."

"It's your barbeque thing." Darry said, before Sodapop interrupted.

"Pony, please don't leave. I want to talk to you about this."

"It's one week Soda." I said forcing a laugh. "Please don't worry about it. I'll call you when I get there."

"Damn it Pony." Darry muttered as I walked to the front door. I dropped my bags and walked over to Lisa, giving her a quick hug. "Lisa, it was great to meet you. I'm afraid I have to go right now, but I'll be seeing you next week at the barbeque, right?"

She nodded, her face troubled "Pony, I'm real sorry." She whispered in my ear, before letting me go.

I shrugged, flashing her another forced smile. "It would have come out eventually. At least I can give them some time to marinate."

She gave me a hesitant smile as I turned around and followed Paul, who was waiting impatiently at the door, to the car. "I'll see you guys in a week!" I called over my shoulder, the screen door slamming behind me. I breathed in a sigh of relief as I followed Paul to the car. Damn it.

_**Was it too short? To detailed? Not detailed enough? Did you like it? Tell me these things, please! Tell me if you like the direction the stories going! Thank you, all of you guys! Even you mean ones who won't review.** _


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